VZC Verizon Comms

RNS Number:9123E
Verizon Communications
10 December 2002


                               UNITED STATES 
                   SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 
                          WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 

                                FORM 8-K 

                             CURRENT REPORT 

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

                   Date of Report: December 5, 2002 
                   (Date of earliest event reported) 

                       VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. 
          (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) 

               
                  Delaware                                  1-8606                           23-2259884 
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)     (Commission File Number)     (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)  
                                                                                              
1095 Avenue of the Americas,                                                                    10036
    New York, New York                                                                       (Zip Code)  
(Address of principal executive offices)            

              Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (212) 395-2121 

                                      Not applicable 

               (Former name or former address, if changed since last report) 


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Item 9. Regulation FD Disclosure.

Set forth below is a press release issued by Verizon Communication Inc. on
December 5, 2002



                                                  MEDIA CONTACT
DEC. 5, 2002                                      BOB VARETTONI
                                                  212-395-7726
                                                  robert.a.varettoni@verizon.com




              VERIZON ANNOUNCES PLAN TO EXPENSE STOCK OPTIONS AND 
        DISCLOSES EFFECTS OF PENSION AND OTHER RETIREMENT BENEFIT COSTS


NEW YORK -- Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) announced today that it will
expense the fair value of employee stock options granted on or after Jan. 1,
2003. 

The company also announced the expected amount of 2002 pension income, net of
post-retirement benefit costs, and estimated the amount of income it expects to
recognize in connection with these plans in 2003. 

Verizon's 2002 earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $3.05 to $3.09 remains
unchanged. 


Employee Stock Options

The company estimates that, under current accounting rules, expensing stock
options on a prospective basis will result in a charge to earnings of 2 cents
per diluted share in 2003. 

"Today we informed our Board of Directors of our intention to expense employee
stock options," said Verizon Chief Financial Officer Doreen Toben. "Options
remain an important part of our long-term incentive compensation program.
Although we have always disclosed the effect of options in our annual reports
and public filings, this is an issue of investor interest and we believe that
now is the right time to begin including these costs in our results." 


Pension and Other Post-Retirement Benefit Effects

For 2002, the company expects to recognize non-cash pension income, net of post-
retirement benefit costs, of approximately 35 cents per share. In 2003, the
company anticipates that non-cash pension income, net of post-retirement benefit
costs, will decline between 27 and 33 cents per share, resulting in net pension
income of 2 to 8 cents per share in 2003. 

Toben said that current conditions in the securities markets will cause the
company to lower its expected return on plan assets and discount rate assumption
for 2003. This, coupled with rising medical and prescription drug costs that
will increase the medical cost trend rate assumption, will result in the
decrease in pension income in 2003. 

"From a cash perspective, we do not foresee a need to add funding to our pension
plans overall in 2003," Toben said. "Our plans are currently adequately funded,
and we expect that status to remain intact throughout 2003. Other post-
retirement benefits, principally health care and life insurance obligations, are
on a pay-as-you-go basis and will continue to be funded from our operating cash
flow." 


Seidenberg: Confidence in 2003 Outlook

Verizon Chief Executive Officer Ivan Seidenberg said, "As we look ahead to 2003,
we will remain focused on operational execution and on further distinguishing
ourselves from the other companies in the telecommunications sector. Just as we
are performing very well in a difficult environment this year, we are confident
in our ability to grow operationally in 2003. We are committed to continued
market leadership in wireless, as well as continued success in sales of long
distance, DSL and product bundles in the consumer market and the success of our
new Enterprise Advance initiative in the business market." 

Verizon plans to provide more complete earnings and financial guidance for 2003
on Jan. 29, 2003, when the company releases its fourth-quarter and full-year
2002 results. 

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) 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 135.0 million access line
equivalents and 31.5 million Verizon Wireless customers. Verizon is also the
largest directory publisher in the world. With more than $67 billion in annual
revenues and more than 236,000 employees, Verizon's global presence extends to
more than 35 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more
information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com. 


                                        ####

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and
biographies, media contacts and other information are available at Verizon's
News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news
releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized 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: the duration and extent of the current economic
downturn; 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; technology substitution; an adverse change in
the ratings afforded our debt securities by nationally accredited ratings
organizations; the final results of federal and state regulatory proceedings
concerning our provision of retail and wholesale services and judicial review of
those results; the effects of competition in our markets; our ability to satisfy
regulatory merger conditions and obtain combined company revenue enhancements
and cost savings; the ability of Verizon Wireless to achieve revenue
enhancements and cost savings, and obtain sufficient spectrum resources; the
outcome of litigation concerning the FCC NextWave spectrum auction; our ability
to recover insurance proceeds relating to equipment losses and other adverse
financial impacts resulting from the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001; and
changes in our accounting assumptions that regulatory agencies, including the
SEC, may require or that result from changes in the accounting rules or their
application, which could result in an impact on earnings.



                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END
MSCGUGBUPUPPGAU

Verizon Comms (LSE:VZC)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Jun 2024 bis Jul 2024

Verizon Comms (LSE:VZC)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Jul 2023 bis Jul 2024