Frontier Communications has delivered full-year revenue growth for the first time in 15 years.
The Dallas-based fiber provider highlighted its broadband subscriber expansion as a key reason for its growth, adding 385,000 fiber broadband customers this year, up 19.2 percent year-on-year.
Of these, 97,000 fiber broadband customers were added during the last quarter of the year. The company continued its fiber push, adding 1.3 million new fiber passings for the year.
In total, the company has reached 7.8 million fiber passings across 25 states and has more than 2.4 million fiber customers.
Revenue for the full year 2024 was $5.94 billion. The company posted an operating income of $353 million, and Adjusted EBITDA of $2.25bn.
Nick Jeffery, president and chief executive officer of Frontier, said: “2024 was a landmark year for Frontier, marking the culmination of an ambitious turnaround that started when we emerged from bankruptcy in 2021."
He added: "Our goal was to return the company to growth, and in less than four years, we delivered. For the first time in more than 15 years, we achieved full-year organic revenue growth, propelled by 19.2 percent growth in fiber customers and 13.5 percent growth in fiber revenues.”
Frontier is in the process of being acquired by US carrier Verizon as part of a $20 billion deal.
The deal is set to comprise $10.4bn of debt and $9.6bn in cash.
Despite some public pushback from some of Frontier's shareholders, 63 percent of stockholders voted in favor of the deal, including ten of the company's top 12 stockholders. The deal is expected to be completed early next year.
Frontier filed for bankruptcy in 2020 with debts of more than $16bn, as the company sought to turn around its fortunes and cut around $10bn of that debt. A year later, the company exited bankruptcy.
“This transformation is a testament to our entire leadership team, our employees’ relentless execution, and the power of a clear strategy and shared purpose," added Jeffery.
