OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Sprint PCS reported $2.9 billion in operating revenue for the first quarter of 2003, a 3.5-percent improvement compared with the $2.8 billion the carrier reported for the first quarter of 2002. Operating income increased 24 percent from $113 million last year to $140 million this year.
Net loss applicable to common share holders increased from $150 million during the first quarter of 2002, a loss of 15 cents per share, to $186 million this year, a loss of 18 cents per share.
The carrier also said it added 199,000 direct net subscribers during the first quarter, 175,000 net resale customers and 109,000 customers through its affiliates. Sprint PCS noted that most of the resale customer additions were through its mobile virtual network operator partnership with Virgin Mobile USA L.L.C., which said it was serving nearly 500,000 customers at the end of the first quarter.
Average revenue per user dropped from $60.30 during the first quarter of last year to just under $59 during the first three months of 2003, which the carrier attributed to lower overage charges and the reduction in travel rates with its affiliates. Customer churn increased from 3 percent during the first quarter of 2002 to 3.1 percent this year, but Sprint PCS noted customer churn dropped from 3.5 percent during the fourth quarter of last year and was 2.75 percent during the final month of the first quarter.
Sprint PCS added that it was serving more than 1.8 million wireless data customers at the end of the first quarter including 1.3 million next-generation PCS Vision customers and 500,000 second-generation Wireless Web subscribers.
