By Melodie Warner Verizon Communications Inc.'s (VZ) second-quarter earnings rose 13% as the company added more contract wireless customers and increased its base of FiOS subscribers. The largest U.S. phone carrier has seen its revenue growth improve in recent quarters as the addition of Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone helped Verizon Wireless--its joint venture with Vodafone Group PLC (VOD, VOD.LN)--lure new subscribers from competitors. Verizon has also seen increased gains for its FiOS Internet and television offerings and is expanding its networking and cloud-computing services as it moves to replace its shrinking landline business. Last month, the company raised prices and increased the speeds for its FiOS Internet service, pegging the monthly bill to the speed chosen by customers. Verizon Wireless also unveiled new pricing for mobile plans that focused on subscribers' data usage and would raise prices for many users. Verizon reported a profit of $1.83 billion, or 64 cents a share, up from $1.61 billion, or 57 cents, a year earlier. Revenue jumped 3.7% to $28.55 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast earnings of 64 cents on revenue of $28.55 billion. Operating margin rose to 19.8% from 17.8%. Verizon Wireless added 888,000 of the most profitable postpaid subscribers, down from 1.26 million additions a year earlier and up from 501,000 additions in the prior quarter. It added 1.2 million total subscribers during the quarter, pushing its base to 94.2 million connections, up 4.9% from a year ago. Wireless revenue rose 7.4% to $18.58 billion. Total churn, or customers who cancel services, was 0.84%, compared with 0.89% a year ago and 1.24% in the prior quarter. The company also added 134,000 FiOS Internet and 120,000 FiOS Video subscribers during the quarter. Average revenue per user at the wireline business jumped 8.5%. Shares fell 29 cents to $45.60 premarket. The stock is up 14% so far this year through Wednesday's close. Write to Melodie Warner at melodie.warner@dowjones.com Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
