RCN Corp. announced a loss of $111.6 million, or $1.15 per share, in the quarter ending Sept. 30, still a measurable improvement over its results from the same quarter a year ago.

Excluding the gain of $75.5 million on early debt retirement, the company's net loss was $188 million, or $1.92 per share. In terms of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), RCN's loss was $44 million, compared to $64 million in the second quarter and $86 million last year.

In the third quarter of 2000, the Princeton, N.J.-based broadband overbuilder lost $233.8 million, or $2.70 per share; since then, RCN has worked to reduce its capital expenditures and operating expenses. Capital expenditures for the third quarter were $115 million, down 66% from Q3 2000. The company has reduced expenses by laying off about 2,000 employees since the beginning of 2001.

?Our focus on reducing costs has resulted in continued substantial quarter-to-quarter reductions in losses and expenses,? said Timothy Stoklosa, RCN's EVP-CFO.

Even though RCN's results beat analyst expectations ? the mean First Call estimate was $2.91 a share ? by a considerable margin, the company's stock continued to stall, closing Wednesday at $4.05 per share, down 7.7%.

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