Verizon kept a lid on its operating expenses during Q3, helping it to book a 5.5 per cent year-on-year increase in net income attributable to shareholders despite revenue remaining broadly flat.

The operator played up growth in its post-paid subscriber base as a key driver of increases during the period, with chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg (pictured) noting a related bump in wireless service revenue, up 1.8 per cent to $27.8 billion. The executive said Verizon “continued its momentum” with “strong wireless volumes in both our Consumer and Business segments”.

This growth left Vestberg “confident in our strategy to drive value for our customers” in the current quarter. The operator reiterated its full-year targets of low single-digit growth in consolidated revenue and capex in the range of $17 billion to $18 billion, which includes costs relating to its 5G rollout.

In a presentation, Verizon noted its next-generation network was available in 15 US cities by end-September, while so-called “mix and match” tariffs contributed to its highest Q3 gross subscriber additions in five years.

The operator’s Consumer division registered net phone subscriber additions of 239,000 in the recent quarter, compared with 112,000 in Q3 2018, with net post-paid additions standing at 193,000. The picture was the same at its Business division, with 205,000 net phone subscriber additions, and a total of 408,000, both related to post-paid.

Net income attributable to the operator hit $5.12 billion from $4.92 billion in Q3 2018, on revenue of $32.9 billion, up 0.9 per cent.