Level 3 Communications, Inc. (LVLT) has reported a 14,200 percent jump in profit for the quarter ended Sep. 30, 2016. The company has earned $143 million in the quarter, compared with $1 million for the same period last year.

Revenue during the quarter went down marginally by 1.41 percent to $2,033 million from $2,062 million in the previous year period. Total expenses were 82.59 percent of quarterly revenues, down from 84.14 percent for the same period last year. This has led to an improvement of 155 basis points in operating margin to 17.41 percent.

Operating income for the quarter was $354 million, compared with $327 million in the previous year period.

However, the adjusted EBITDA for the quarter stood at $716 million compared with $657 million in the prior year period. At the same time, adjusted EBITDA margin improved 336 basis points in the quarter to 35.22 percent from 31.86 percent in the last year period.

"We continued to expand margins and generated solid Free Cash Flow; however, we saw softer revenue growth in the quarter," said Jeff Storey, president and chief executive officer of Level 3. "We are focused on delivering the best customer experience and improving our execution in the near term."

Debt remains almost stable 

Total debt of Level 3 Communications, Inc. remained almost stable for the quarter at $10,882 million, when compared with the last year period. Total debt was 43.97 percent of total assets as on Sep. 30, 2016, compared with 52.13 percent on Sep. 30, 2015. Debt to equity ratio was at 1.01 as on Sep. 30, 2016, down from 1.61 as on Sep. 30, 2015. Interest coverage ratio improved to 2.55 for the quarter from 2.26 for the same period last year.