AT&T Inc. is a North American telecommunications company. In addition to telephone, data and video telecommunications, AT&T also provides mobile communications and internet services for companies, private customers and government organizations. AT&T has long had a monopoly in the United States and Canada.
United StatesSECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONWashington, D.C. 20549
For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2003
or
For the transition period from toCommission File Number 1-8610
Incorporated under the laws of the State of DelawareI.R.S. Employer Identification Number 43-1301883175 E. Houston, San Antonio, Texas 78205Telephone Number: (210) 821-4105
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes X No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes X No
At April 30, 2003, 3,322,405,531 common shares were outstanding.
See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
SBC COMMUNICATIONS INC.MARCH 31, 2003
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)Dollars in millions except per share amounts
Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of OperationsDollars in Millions except per share amounts
Selected Financial And Operating Data
Our wireline segment operating income margin was 14.7% in the first quarter of 2003, compared to 19.3% in first quarter of 2002. The decline in our wireline segment operating income margins was due primarily to the loss of revenues from retail access lines caused by below-cost UNE-P, which was greater than the expense reductions in response to UNE-P. Additional factors contributing to the margin decrease were loss of revenues from the weak U.S. economy and increased competition, and an increase in our combined net pension and postretirement cost. See further discussion of the details of our wireline segment revenue and expense fluctuations below.
We account for our 60% economic interest in Cingular under the equity method of accounting in our consolidated financial statements since we share control equally (i.e. 50/50) with our 40% economic partner in the joint venture. We have equal voting rights and representation on the board of directors that controls Cingular. This means that our reported results include Cingulars results in the Equity in Net Income of Affiliates line. However, when analyzing our segment results, we evaluate Cingulars results on a stand-alone basis. Accordingly, in the segment table above, we present 100% of the Cingular revenues and expenses under Segment operating revenues and Segment operating expenses. Including 100% of Cingulars results in our segment operations (rather than 60% in equity in net income of affiliates) affects the presentation of this segments revenues, expenses, operating income, nonoperating items and segment income, but does not affect our consolidated reported net income.
Our Cingular segment operating income margin was 19.9% in the first quarter of 2003, compared to 18.8% in the first quarter of 2002. The increase in our Cingular segment operating income margin was due primarily to reduced selling, billing and other expenses related to 2002 conversion and reorganization programs, which offset the increased network and depreciation expenses. The slower growth in revenues continues to reflect the impact of competition on pricing levels and customer growth. See further discussion of the details of the Cingular segment revenue and expense fluctuations below.
Effective January 1, 2003, we changed our method of recognizing revenues and expenses related to publishing directories from the issue basis method to the amortization method. The issue basis method recognizes revenues and expenses at the time the initial delivery of the related directory is completed. The amortization method recognizes revenues and expenses ratably over the life of the directory, which is typically 12 months. The first quarter of 2003 is shown on the amortization basis, while the first quarter of 2002 is shown on the issue basis.
Our directory segment income was $582 and the segment operating income margin was 54.8% in the first quarter of 2003, compared to $311 with a margin of 44.5% in the first quarter of 2002. Adjusted to eliminate the effects of the accounting change and shifts in the schedule of directory titles published, our directory segment income was $165 and the segment operating income margin was 29.5% in the first quarter of 2003, compared to $203 with a margin of 36.0% in the first quarter of 2002. The decrease in operating income of $38 as well as the decreased margin was due primarily to increased pension and postretirement costs combined with pressure on revenues from increased competition and lower demand from advertisers. See further discussion of the details of our directory segment revenue and expense fluctuations below.
Our international segment consists almost entirely of equity investments in international companies, the income from which we report as equity in net income of affiliates. Revenues from direct international operations are less than 1% of our consolidated revenues. We discuss our quarterly results first and then summarize in a table the individual results for our significant equity holdings.
Our earnings from foreign affiliates are sensitive to exchange-rate changes in the value of the respective local currencies. Our foreign investments are recorded under GAAP, which include adjustments for the purchase method of accounting and exclude certain adjustments required for local reporting in specific countries.
Our equity in net income of affiliates by major investment at March 31, are listed below:
Our other segment results in the first quarter of 2003 and 2002 primarily consist of corporate and other operations. Substantially all of the Equity in Net Income of Affiliates represents the equity income from our investment in Cingular.
COMPETITIVE AND REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT
Overview Passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Telecom Act) was intended to promote competition and reduce regulation in U.S. telecommunications markets. Despite passage of the Telecom Act, the telecommunications industry, particularly incumbent local exchange carriers such as our wireline subsidiaries, continues to be subject to significant regulation. The expected transition from an industry extensively regulated by multiple regulatory bodies to a market-driven industry monitored by state and federal agencies has not occurred as anticipated.
Our wireline subsidiaries remain subject to extensive regulation by state regulatory commissions for intrastate services and by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for interstate services. For example, certain state commissions, including those in California, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, have significantly lowered the wholesale rates we are allowed to charge competitors, including AT&T and MCI (formerly known asWorldCom), for leasing parts of our network (unbundled network elements, or UNEs). These mandated rates, which are below our cost, are significantly contributing to continuing declines in our access-line revenues and profitability. When UNEs are combined by incumbent local exchange carriers into a complete set capable of providing total local service to a customer, then they are referred to as UNE-P. Under UNE-P, our competitors market the lines and collect revenue from the customer, but we still incur the network costs, which generally exceed the rates we are permitted to charge competitors for UNE-P. In the first quarter of 2003, we lost approximately 770,000 customer lines to competitors who obtained UNE-P lines from us. These UNE-P regulations are also contributing to decreases in our switched access revenue and universal service fees and other fees, which have in the past substantially contributed financial support for the operation of the network for all customers.
As discussed below, in February 2003, the FCC completed its triennial review of UNE regulations. The FCC review included a wide range of UNE issues, including UNE-P, dark fiber (unused fiber that does not have a communications signal) and unbundled transport of communications services. Several state commissions are also reviewing unbundling regulations, including those for broadband services. If current UNE-P regulations remain in place or are revised to be even more detrimental to our business, we could experience additional and more significant declines in access-line revenues, which, in turn, could reduce returns on our invested capital and result in further reductions in capital expenditures and employment levels.
In response to competitors offerings, we have developed a series of marketing initiatives known as bundling. These initiatives focus on combining wireline and wireless services, including combined packages of minutes, on a single bill. SBC Connections, launched for residential customers in the fourth-quarter of 2002 and for small businesses in March 2003, offers discounts on some services to customers who consolidate their services (e.g., local and long-distance telephone, DSL and wireless) with us. Additionally, in April 2003, we launched our new All Distance bundle in certain states, which includes unlimited domestic long-distance voice and local calls for a fixed monthly fee. During the remainder of 2003, we plan to continue our focus on bundling strategies. Our ability to offer wireline interLATA long-distance services in all of our states is critical to the success of these strategies. See below for a discussion of our long-distance applications.
This continuing difficult and uncertain regulatory environment combined with the continued weakness in the U.S. economy and increasing local competition from multiple wireline and wireless providers in various markets presents significant challenges for our business.
FCC Triennial ReviewOn February 20, 2003, the FCC, in its Triennial Review proceeding, issued a press release describing its findings and a framework concerning the obligations of incumbent local exchange carriers, such as our wireline subsidiaries, to make available network elements on an unbundled and subsidized basis. The FCC framework apparently will eliminate unbundling requirements for new broadband facilities. In addition, the FCC framework will require state commissions to initiate proceedings to determine specific unbundling obligations (e.g., switching, UNE-P, and unbundled transport) of incumbent local exchange carriers, such as our wireline subsidiaries. These proceedings must be completed within a nine-month period. The resulting rules will replace the FCCs previous unbundling rules, which have been vacated by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Court of Appeals). The FCC did not release a text of its decision prior to the filing of this Form 10-Q and public information about the FCCs ruling is somewhat limited. Due to the lack of detailed information about the new rules in the FCCs press release, we cannot analyze or quantify the effects of this decision until we review the text of the decision; however, the new unbundling rules will most likely create an even more uncertain and more complex regulatory environment for our wireline subsidiaries, possibly resulting in further reductions in capital expenditures and employment levels. The Triennial Review decision is expected to be effective 30 days after official publication and likely will be appealed by various parties.
Long-Distance Applications The FCC approved our application to provide wireline interLATA long-distance for Nevada customers effective April 14, 2003 and we launched service in Nevada under the SBC brand on April 25, 2003. In April 2003, we withdrew our Michigan long-distance application filed with the FCC in January 2003 in order to resolve certain issues, and plan to re-file the Michigan application with the FCC before the end of May 2003. We currently offer wireline interLATA long-distance service in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Connecticut, California and Nevada. We also continue to seek long-distance approval in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin (the remaining states where we are not currently permitted to offer long-distance) and have filed applications with those state commissions.
OTHER BUSINESS MATTERS
WorldCom Bankruptcy On July 21, 2002, WorldCom Inc. (WorldCom) and more than 170 related entities filed petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. We filed claims against WorldCom totaling approximately $641 with the bankruptcy court in January 2003. Our claims included $338 in receivables and an estimate of $303 related to several issues that are the subject of litigation or otherwise contingent, plus claims for a variety of contingent and unliquidated items. In March 2003, the court approved a settlement agreement between one of our subsidiaries and a WorldCom entity. In April 2003, we received a $19 payment as part of that settlement, which reduced our receivable outstanding. At March 31, 2003, we had reserves of approximately $140 related to the WorldCom bankruptcy filing.
In March 2003, the court also approved a revised contract with WorldComs subsidiary UUNET (a wholesale Internet communications/network access provider) that substantially reduces the price and quantity of services that UUNET purchases from SBC. The revised contract will likely result in the disconnection of approximately 150,000 access lines related to these services before the end of May 2003 and a reduction in our second-quarter data revenues of approximately $18.
In addition to the reserves, we are withholding payments on amounts we owed WorldCom as of the filing date that equal or exceed the remaining receivable. These withholdings relate primarily to amounts collected from WorldComs long-distance customers in our role as billing agent and other general payables. The bankruptcy court has recognized that some providers, including our subsidiaries, have certain rights to offset such pre-bankruptcy amounts they owe WorldCom against unpaid pre-bankruptcy charges WorldCom owes these providers. The court has also directed WorldCom to negotiate post-petition offset arrangements with these providers. We estimate our post-petition billing to WorldCom to be approximately $160 per month. To date, WorldCom generally has paid its post-petition obligations to us on a timely basis.
In April 2003, WorldCom filed its proposed Plan of Reorganization (POR), Disclosure Statement and a Schedule of Assets with the court and began operating using the MCI name. WorldCom provided limited information in the documents filed with the court. We will seek additional information from WorldCom to assess the impact of the proposed POR on our financial position or results of operations.
Antitrust LitigationEight consumer antitrust class actions were filed last year against SBC Communications Inc. in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. The primary claim in these suits is that SBC companies have, in violation of federal and state law, maintained monopoly power over local telephone service in all 13 states in which SBC subsidiaries are incumbent local exchange companies. The suits seek relief on behalf of a class broadly described as including all persons who purchased local telephone services in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin from August 8, 1996, and continuing to the present date.
These cases have been consolidated under the first filed case Twombly v. SBC Communications Inc.and are now stayed by agreement of the parties pending the United States Supreme Courts (Supreme Court) decision in a similar case against another incumbent local exchange company (Law Offices of Curtis V. Trinko v. Bell Atlantic Corp., 294 F.3d 307 (2d Cir. N.Y. 2002)). That Courts decision in Trinko may determine whether these actions will proceed and, if so, on what theories. If the Twombly cases do go forward after the Supreme Court rules in Trinko, SBC will move for dismissal or summary disposition of the complaints and oppose class certification.
In addition to the Connecticut class actions described above, the plaintiff in the Twombly case filed last year a consumer antitrust class action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against SBC, Verizon, BellSouth and Qwest alleging that they have violated federal and state antitrust laws by agreeing not to compete with one another and acting together to impede competition for local telephone services. This suit in New York has not been stayed. SBC will move for dismissal or summary disposition of the complaints and oppose class certification.
We believe that an adverse outcome having a material effect on our financial statements in any of these cases is unlikely. We will continue to evaluate the potential impact of these suits on our financial results in light of Supreme Court and other appellate decisions that may impact the outcome of these cases and rulings by the courts in which these suits are pending on motions to dismiss or summary disposition and for class certification.
Disposition In January of 2003, we sold our 15% interest in Cegetel to Vodafone Group PLC (Vodafone) for $2,270 in cash and recorded a pre-tax gain of approximately $1,574.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
We had $4,832 in cash and cash equivalents available at March 31, 2003. Cash and cash equivalents included municipal securities of approximately $195, auction securities of $1,175 and money market funds of $3,150 at March 31, 2003.
During the first three months of 2003 our primary source of funds was cash from operating activities and cash from our disposition of Cegetel. Our primary source of funds for 2002 was cash provided by operating activities.
We currently have a credit agreement totaling $4,250 with a syndicate of banks set to expire on October 21, 2003. Advances under this agreement may be used for general corporate purposes, including support of commercial paper borrowings and other short-term borrowings. Under the terms of the agreement, repayment of advances up to $1,000 may be extended two years from the termination date of the agreement. Repayment of advances up to $3,250 may be extended to one year from the termination date of the agreement. There is no material adverse change provision governing the drawdown of advances under this credit agreement. We had no borrowings outstanding under committed lines of credit as of March 31, 2003.
Our commercial paper borrowings decreased $21 during the first three months of 2003, and at March 31, 2003, totaled $1,127, all of which was due within 90 days of March 31, 2003. All commercial paper outstanding at March 31, 2003 was issued under a program initiated by a wholly-owned subsidiary, SBC International, Inc., in the first quarter of 2002. This program was initiated in order to simplify intercompany borrowing arrangements.
Our investing activities during the first three months of 2003 consisted of $897 in construction and capital expenditures. Capital expenditures in the wireline segment, which represented substantially all of our total capital expenditures, decreased by approximately 49.5% in the first three months of 2003 as compared to the same period in the prior year. We currently expect our capital spending for 2003 to be between $5,000 and $6,000, excluding Cingular, substantially all of which we expect to relate to our wireline segment. We expect to continue to fund these expenditures using cash from operations, depending on interest rate levels and overall market conditions, and incremental borrowings. The Cingular and international segments should be self-funding as they are substantially equity investments and not direct SBC operations. We expect to fund any directory segment capital expenditures using cash from operations. As discussed in our 2002 Annual Report to Shareowners, our capital spending plans described above reflect continued pressure from the U.S. economic and regulatory environments and our resulting lower revenue expectations.
Investing activities during the first three months of 2003 also include proceeds of $2,270 relating to the sale of our interest in Cegetel. We did not make any acquisitions during the first three months of 2003.
As a result of the 2002 sale of our interest in Bell Canada, BCE Inc. (BCE) has the right to redeem prior to maturity notes held by us, at face value, for 314 Canadian Dollars (CAD) ($214 at March 31, 2003 exchange rates), plus accrued interest. Otherwise, the notes will mature on December 31, 2004. Our carrying value of the notes at March 31, 2003 was approximately $187.
In April 2003, we sold approximately 9 million shares of BCE. We received approximately 250 CAD, or $173 for this transaction. We continue to hold approximately 9 million shares.
Cash paid for dividends in the first three months of 2003 was $897, or 4.3% higher than in the first three months of 2002, due to an increase in dividends declared per share in 2003. On March 28, 2003, we declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2825 per share, which is 4.6% higher than the prior quarter, and announced an additional one-time dividend of $0.05 per share.
In February 2003, $750 of 5.875% long-term debt matured. In March 2003, $1,000 of short-term floating rate notes matured. Funds from operations and dispositions were used to pay off these notes.
In March 2003, we called, prior to maturity, approximately $17 of debt obligations that were originally scheduled to mature between February 2007 and March 2007. These obligations carried interest rates ranging between 6.5% and 7.15%, with an average yield of 6.9%.
At March 31, 2003, our debt ratio was 35.0% compared to our debt ratio of 46.8% at March 31, 2002. The decline was primarily due to lower debt levels. The ratio also decreased approximately 160 basis points (1.6%) due to an increase in equity of $2,548 from our 2003 cumulative effect of accounting changes.
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
There has been no material change in the disclosures about our sensitivities to market risks related to financial instruments since December 31, 2002.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures
The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commissions rules and forms. The Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have performed an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Companys disclosure controls and procedures as of May 8, 2003. Based on that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the Companys disclosure controls and procedures were effective in all material respects as of May 8, 2003.
CAUTIONARY LANGUAGE CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Information set forth in this report contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. We claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
The following factors could cause our future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements:
Readers are cautioned that other factors discussed in this report, although not enumerated here, also could materially impact our future earnings.
PART II - OTHER INFORMATION
Item 2. Changes in Securities and Use of Proceeds
During the first quarter of 2003, non-employee directors acquired from the Company shares of common stock pursuant to the Companys Non-Employee Director Stock and Deferral Plan. Under the plan, a director may make an annual election to receive all or part of his or her annual retainer or fees in the form of SBC shares or deferred stock units (DSUs) that are convertible into SBC shares. Each Director also receives an annual grant of DSUs. During this period, an aggregate of 7,523 SBC shares and DSUs were acquired by non-employee directors at prices ranging from $20.24 to $29.61, in each case the fair market value of the shares on the date of acquisition. The issuances of shares and DSUs were exempt from registration pursuant to Section 4(2) of the Securities Act.
Item 6. Exhibits
(a) Exhibits
(b) Reports on Form 8-K
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
CERTIFICATIONS
I, Edward E. Whitacre Jr., certify that:
Date: May 9, 2003
/s/ Edward E. Whitacre Jr.Edward E. Whitacre Jr.Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
I, Randall Stephenson, certify that:
/s/ Randall StephensonRandall StephensonSenior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer