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EXHIBIT 99
NEWS RELEASE [VERIZON LOGO]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
July 21, 2000 Peter Thonis (Media)
212-395-2355
[email protected]
John Diercksen (Investors)
212-395-1842
[email protected]
VERIZON RESPONDS TO RECENT MARKET ACTIVITY
Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) today issued the following statement
in response to recent market activity:
Verizon Communications management expressed confidence in the growth
potential and profitability of the enterprise, which was formed June 30 through
the merger of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp. Verizon will discuss its
financial outlook at a meeting with the financial community on Aug. 8.
"The performance of our companies in the second quarter gives us the
confidence that we will be able to realize the strategic advantages of our
merger to the fullest extent possible," said Verizon Chairman and co-CEO Charles
R. Lee.
The company said it expects that second quarter earnings will be
consistent with the prior guidance issued by each company. Preliminary results
include:
o Consolidated revenue growth of approximately 15 percent, which
includes growth resulting from the formation of Verizon
Wireless.
o 878,500 consumer and business long distance customers in New
York, more than doubling the number added in first quarter and
bringing the total number of Verizon long distance customers
to more than 4.4 million.
o 221,000 DSL subscribers, 47 percent more than at the end of
first quarter.
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Verizon News Release, page 2
o Approximately 800,000 wireless net additions, about 21 percent
more than in second quarter 1999, and resulting in
approximately 25.6 million wireless customers.
o Data revenue growth exceeding 30 percent.
o More than $3 billion in cash generated by the completion of
previously announced asset sales.
"We are demonstrating our belief in the potential created by the
combination of our two companies by aggressively buying back shares under our
previously authorized share repurchase program," said Verizon President and
co-CEO Ivan Seidenberg. "We are also committed to meeting and potentially
exceeding the expense synergies we identified for our merger, which, excluding
Genuity, now total $1.5 billion."
At the Aug. 8 meeting, to be held in New York, Verizon will announce
second quarter results, pro forma results for 1999 and 2000, and discuss its
post-merger financial outlook. The public can listen to an audiocast of the
meeting and view slides at www.verizon.com/investor.
At the meeting, Verizon executives will give a comprehensive
description of the business. They will also issue new guidance reflecting:
o The conditions of the Federal Communications Commission's
approval of the merger, including the cost of implementing
common in-franchise operating systems and complying with
requirements to expand out of region.
o The effects of the separation of Genuity, GTE's
Internetworking business, from Verizon Communications, and the
deconsolidation of Genuity's results from Verizon's.
The revised guidance will also reflect the following non-cash items:
o Goodwill associated with the assets contributed to Verizon
Wireless by Vodafone AirTouch plc and PrimeCo Personal
Communications.
o Conforming accounting practices to develop a unified approach
for the combined company.
Verizon Communications (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 95 million access lines and 25 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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Verizon News Release, page 3
ON THE INTERNET: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, news
media contacts and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on
the World Wide Web (www.verizon.com/news). To receive news releases by email,
visit the News Center and register for personalized automatic delivery of
Verizon news releases.
NOTE: This press 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 Bell Atlantic and GTE operations and obtain revenue enhancements and
cost savings following the merger; and the ability of Verizon Wireless to
combine operations and obtain revenue enhancements and cost savings.
