Level 3 posts overall improvement

Level 3 Communications, owner and manager of one of the Internet's largest backbone networks, announced in December that it would be laying off 450 of its employees, or roughly eight percent of its total workforce. However, it managed to finish out the year in a better place than it previously was.

Today, the company reported that its full year earnings have improved by 20% against 2007. Level 3 posted a net loss of $91 million in the fourth quarter the previous year, but in 2008 was $44 million in the black.

Level 3's outlook for 2009 takes into consideration difficulties experienced by their wholesale customers. CFO Sunit Patel said, "In the near-term, our reported revenues are being negatively affected due to several factors: the general economic environment driving churn in our enterprise business as well as usage declines; known disconnects from some key wholesale customers; typical seasonality in our Vyvx broadcast business; and recent weakness in pound sterling rates that affect our reported European revenues."

Despite these revenue pressures, the company expects its 2009 earnings will improve from the $988 million total it reported for 2008.