Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (SHEN) has reported an 83.14 percent plunge in profit for the quarter ended Mar. 31, 2017. The company has earned $2.34 million, or $0.05 a share in the quarter, compared with $13.88 million, or $0.28 a share for the same period last year.

Revenue during the quarter surged 66.23 percent to $153.88 million from $92.57 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter contracted 63 basis points over the previous year period to 65.06 percent. Total expenses were 93.06 percent of quarterly revenues, up from 76.98 percent for the same period last year. That has resulted in a contraction of 1609 basis points in operating margin to 6.94 percent.

Operating income for the quarter was $10.67 million, compared with $21.31 million in the previous year period.

President and chief executive officer Christopher E. French commented, "Our first quarter reflects a solid start to 2017, with revenue growth and Adjusted OIBDA increases achieved in all of our segments. The integration of customers and assets from the nTelos acquisition is proceeding as we expected and we're pleased to be ahead of schedule migrating customers and combining operations. Just after the quarter closed, we announced the expansion of our affiliate relationship with Sprint, which significantly enhances our presence in the mid-Atlantic region and we're excited to be adding new service areas that will improve customer experience and create shareholder value."

Days sales outstanding went down to 11 days for the quarter compared with 32 days for the same period last year.