CenturyLink 2012 Annual Report Download - page 7

Fiber-to-the-Tower
Broadband Expertise
5`
Glen F. Post, III
Chief ExecutiveOfficer and President
Even as CenturyLink becomes a larger,
more diverse company, ouremployees
keep our customers at the centerof
everything we do.
Ouremployees are guided by our Unifying
Principles: fairness, honestyand integrity,
commitment to excellence,positive
attitude,respect,faith and perseverance.
Enhancingshareholdervalue
We believe the financially disciplined manner
in which we make keydecisions has allowed
us to successfully adaptto industry changes
anddeliver consistentlysolidperformancefor
our shareholders.
We metour pro forma two-yeargrossdebt
REPAYMENT COMMITMENT OF  BILLION TO
$2 billion by year-end 2012.We alsoextended
ourdebt maturities through successful
refinancing efforts that lowered ourannual
debt maturities over the next several yearsat
favorable interest rates. We generated strong
cash flows that enabled us to invest $2.9 billion
in ourbusiness in 2012whilereturning more
than $1.8 billion to shareholders through
dividend payments.
In February 2013,we announced changes to
ourcapital allocation strategy, including the
repurchase of up to an aggregate$2 billion
of outstanding common stock over the next
TWOYEAR PERIOD ENDING &EB   AND THE
REDUCTION OF OUR QUARTERLY DIVIDEND TO 
PER SHARE FROM  PER SHARE 4HESE
changes will enable us to maintaininvestment
levels in our growthinitiativesand return more
cash to shareholders during2013 and2014,
even as we reduce ourdividend to a levelthat
positions us to remaincloseto our historical
payout ratio over the long term. We imple-
mentedthis capital allocation strategy because
we believe it offersthe greatest potentialto
drive the future successof our business and
deliver long-term shareholdervalue.
We will continueto seek and evaluate
opportunities to enhance shareholdervalue.
While we have grownthrough acquisitions
formuch of our history, we believe we
nowhave the scale and scope to generate
meaningful organic growthopportunities.
Theinvestments we are making in strategic
growthareasare yieldingpositiveresults and
generating strong momentumfor the future.
Today,we have greater visibility than we
have everhad into the potentialcompany
that CenturyLinkcan become. By offering
differentiated services with an outstanding
customer experience, we have developed
positions of strengthin the business and
consumer markets. We believe continued
investment in strategic growthareaswill
generate additionalrevenue opportunities
in the near term,and enable us to make
meaningful progresstoward achieving growth
andcreatingvalueover the long term.
We thank you for your continuedconfidence
in CenturyLink,its management teamand
employees. We will work diligently in 2013
to onceagaindeliver strong results forour
customersand shareholders, andfurther
enhance our long-term growth potential.