AT&T falls short as WarnerMedia revenue slip weighs on profits

US telco AT&T came in shy of analysts' quarterly estimates on Wednesday, as lower-than-expected sales at WarnerMedia and a shortfall in revenues at its wireless business weighed on profits.

AT&T's WarnerMedia unit, which includes the likes of Turner and HBO, reported revenues of $8.38bn for the three months ending 31 March, whereas analysts on the Street had anticipated sales of $8.45bn.

The wireless carrier added 80,000 phone subscribers, well ahead of the 44,000 predicted by analysts, but the firm's decision to slash prices in order to combat strong competition in the US meant its mobility segment saw revenues of just $17.57bn, short of the $17.65bn predicted.

Net income attributable to AT&T dropped to $4.1bn, or $0.56 on a per share basis, down from the $4.66bn turned in a year earlier. Excluding items, AT&T earned $0.86 per share, in line with estimates.

Total revenues rose almost 18% to $44.83bn; however, this figure again fell short of expectations of $45.11bn.

Cash from operations hit $11.1bn, up 24% year-on-year.

AT&T has attempted to lower its dependency on its primary phone business by way of purchasing media content thanks to its acquisition of Time Warner, but seemingly still faces the unenviable task of finding growth as declines in one business have continued to offset growth in another.

"Our first-quarter results show that we’re delivering on what we promised," said chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson.

"We're on plan to meet our de-leveraging goals with strong free cash flow and asset sales. We grew Entertainment Group EBITDA in the quarter and are confident we’ll meet or exceed our full-year target. FirstNet deployment continues ahead of schedule. And we are recognised for having the nation’s best wireless network1, as well as the fastest network2.

"All this speaks volumes about our focus on our strategic priorities and our ability to grow our Mobility, WarnerMedia and emerging Xandr businesses. Our teams are executing well and have turned in a good performance to start the year."

As of 1345 BST, AT&T shares had dipped 2.40% in pre-market trade to $31.30 each.