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EXHIBIT 99.1
NEWS RELEASE [VERIZON LOGO]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
November 30, 2000 Peter Thonis
212-395-2355
[email protected]
David Frail
212-395-7726
[email protected]
Verizon Raises Earnings Targets
To Reflect Termination of NorthPoint Merger Agreement
NEW YORK - Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) revised its earnings
guidance for 2001 and 2002 to reflect the impact of its termination yesterday of
its merger agreement with NorthPoint Communications (Nasdaq:NPNT) and steps it
is taking to compete outside its current wireline footprint.
Verizon will meet its merger commitments for expansion through a
variety of means, including its acquisition of OnePoint Communications Corp. and
its strategic relationship with Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc. The company also
plans to serve its large business customers outside its current territory and
will expand its network in selected locations to serve them and other new
customers as well.
For 2001, Verizon will target 2001 earnings per share (EPS) growth of
approximately 8 percent, with earnings ranging from $3.13 to $3.17 per share.
These figures include the impact of competitive initiatives outside its
footprint. Verizon had been targeting EPS growth in the 5-6 percent range,
including dilution resulting from the NorthPoint merger, with earnings ranging
from $3.06 to $3.10 per share.
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Verizon News Release, page 2
For 2002, Verizon is now targeting EPS growth of approximately 12
percent, with full-year EPS ranging from $3.49 to $3.54 per share. These figures
also reflect the impact of competitive initiatives. The company had been
targeting EPS growth in the 11.5-12 percent range, including NorthPoint
dilution, with earnings ranging from $3.41 to $3.46 per share.
Verizon also said that its target range for fourth quarter 2000
earnings remains 76 to 78 cents per share.
Verizon will address its earnings targets and its expansion strategy in
a conference call at 9 a.m. Eastern Standard Time today. To listen to the call
or view related materials, go to www.verizon.com/investor.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), formed by the merger of Bell
Atlantic and GTE, is one of the world's leading providers of communications
services. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless
communications in the United States, with more than 101 million access line
equivalents and more than 26 million wireless customers. A Fortune 10 company
with more than 260,000 employees and approximately $60 billion in 1999 revenues,
Verizon's global presence extends to 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia
and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com.
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media contacts and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on
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NOTE: This news release contains statements about expected future events and
financial results that are forward-looking and subject to risks and
uncertainties. For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor
for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. The following important factors could affect future results
and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the
forward-looking statements: materially adverse changes in economic conditions in
the markets served by us or by companies in which we have substantial
investments; material changes in available technology; the final outcome of
federal, state, and local regulatory initiatives and proceedings, including
arbitration proceedings, and judicial review of those initiatives and
proceedings, pertaining to, among other matters, the terms of interconnection,
access charges, universal service, and unbundled network element and resale
rates; the extent, timing, success, and overall effects of competition from
others in the local telephone and toll service markets; the timing and
profitability of our entry into the in-region long distance market; our ability
to combine former Bell Atlantic and GTE operations, satisfy regulatory
conditions and obtain revenue enhancements and cost savings following the
merger; the profitability of our entry into the nationwide broadband access
market; the ability of Verizon Wireless to combine operations and obtain revenue
enhancements and cost savings; our ability to convert our ownership interest in
Genuity Inc. into a controlling interest consistent with regulatory conditions,
and Genuity's ensuing profitability; and our accounting assumptions are subject
to review by regulatory agencies, including the SEC, and changes in the
assumptions as required by those agencies or any changes in the accounting rules
or their application could result in an impact on earnings.
