Qwest slips up

NEWS Shares in US telco Qwest plunged yesterday after it failed to meet Wall Street estimates in its third quarter results. The company reported revenues of $4.77bn for the three months, roughly in line with Q3 2000 figures. Qwest reported a net loss of $142m, or nine cents per share, for the quarter, compared to a reported net loss of $248m or 15 cents per share in the same period last year. Revenues were down $400m from Q2 2001, a fall the company attributed to a decrease in the sale of wholesale network capacity and equipment. Shares in the telco fell to a 52-week low yesterday, down 19 per cent on the day's trading.