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Cincinnati Bell, the new owner of Hawaiian Telcom, saw its stock price lose nearly a quarter of its value Wednesday after missing analysts’ earnings expectations and incurring increased interest expense associated with financing the $650 million acquisition of the Hawaii company. Read more

Cincinnati Bell, the new owner of Hawaiian Telcom, saw its stock price lose nearly a quarter of its value Wednesday after missing analysts’ earnings expectations and incurring increased interest expense associated with financing the $650 million acquisition of the Hawaii company.

Ohio-based Cincinnati Bell posted a second-quarter loss of $13.8 million, or 39 cents a share. Adjusted for one-time gains and costs, its loss of 19 cents a share was worse than analysts’ average estimate of 13 cents a share. In the year-earlier quarter, Cincinnati Bell had a $2.3 million profit.

Cincinnati Bell’s revenue rose 14.4 percent to $296.8 million but missed analysts’ average forecast of $298 million.

The company’s stock plunged 22.3 percent, or $2.85, to $9.95 after the earnings were announced. The decline represented a big hit for Hawaiian Telcom shareholders, who received part of their acquisition payment in Cincinnati Bell stock after the deal closed on July 2. Cincinnati Bell shares have fallen 52 percent since the beginning of the year.

Cincinnati Bell also reported that Hawaiian Telcom in the second quarter added 1,700 new video customers and 800 new internet customers as revenue growth from these products offset a drop in landlines.

“The completion of our merger with Hawaiian Telcom represents a major step forward in scaling our base of high quality metro-fiber assets that will be required to meet the growing demand of IoT (Internet of Things) ecosystems and to deliver the future promise of 5G,” Cincinnati Bell President and CEO Leigh Fox said on the company’s earnings conference call. “Today, fiber is available to more than 65 percent of the 325,000 homes and businesses on … Oahu, representing a solid foundation to replicate Cincinnati Bell’s fiber success and reverse recent trends in Hawaii.”