Tw telecom swings to 3Q profit from loss

Tw telecom inc., formerly Time Warner Telecom, said Tuesday that it turned a profit in the third quarter, reversing a year-ago loss, but warned that turnover among smaller customers will continue.

The company said it earned $7.7 million, or 5 cents per share, compared with a loss of about $186,000, or less than a penny per share, a year ago. Revenue rose 5 percent to $304.8 million.

Analysts expected the company to earn 4 cents per share on sales of $304.1 million.

The company sells Internet, voice and data networking services to business customers. Tw said it was able to sell enough services to offset customer turnover and repricing of contract renewals in the latest period. Customer demand remained solid as bookings for the quarter were the same level as last year.

Customer turnover, or churn, was 1.2 percent, down from 1.5 percent a year ago. The company said most of the churn took place among small customers, and it expects that turnover to continue.

Shares of tw fell 47 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $12.76 in after-hours trading, having closed earlier up 47 cents at $13.23.