Sprint Nextel 4Q earnings up; post paid subscribers decline

02/28/07 - newratings.com

NEW YORK, February 28 (newratings.com) – Telecommunication services provider Sprint Nextel Corp (S) Wednesday reported a 33% rise in its quarterly earnings, despite a decline in the number of its postpaid wireless subscribers.

Sprint Nextel said its earnings in the three months ended December 31 rose to $261 million, or $0.09 per share, from $195 million, $0.07 per share, in the year-ago quarter. The company’s sales climbed 7% to $10.44 billion in the fourth quarter, from $9.79 billion in the same period a year earlier. Sprint Nextel’s adjusted earnings for the latest quarter stood at $0.29 per share. The company’s revenues and adjusted earnings were ahead of the average expectations of the Wall Street analysts.

Sprint Nextel gained a net of 1.3 million customers during the quarter to end the year at 53.1 million. The company lost 306,000 wireless postpaid subscribers in the three-month period. Sprint Nextel’s churn rate declined to 2.3% in the latest quarter, from 2.4% in the third quarter and 2.1% in the fourth quarter of the previous year.

Sprint Nextel’s annual profits declined to $1.33 billion, or $0.45 per share, from $1.78 billion, or $0.87 per share, in 2005. The company’s 2006 revenues climbed 43% to $41.03 billion.