Level 3 posts profit for second straight quarter

BROOMFIELD – Level 3 Communications Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) posted its second quarterly profit in a row Wednesday after nearly five years of consecutive quarterly losses.

The Broomfield-based telecommunications company posted net income of $112 million for the first quarter ending March 31 compared with a net loss of $78 million for the same period a year ago. The profit amounted to diluted earnings per share of 47 cents.

The first-quarter gain was an increase from Level 3’s fourth-quarter 2013 profit of $14 million, which was the company’s first profit since the final quarter of 2008.

Level 3’s shares surged on the news, rising…