ATLANTA-Sprint PCS affiliate AirGate PCS Inc. reported mixed financial and operating results for the second fiscal quarter ended March 31, including a drop in revenues and a loss of customers that was partially offset by a decrease in its reported net losses.
The carrier said total revenues dropped from $114.7 million during the second quarter of 2002 to $104.4 million this year. The decline was spread relatively evenly between AirGate’s service, roaming and equipment revenue segments.
Despite the drop in revenue, AirGate reported net losses fell from $301.9 million during the second quarter of 2002, a loss of $11.71 per share, to $21 million this year, a loss of 81 cents per share. A majority of the difference was due to a $261.2 million goodwill impairment AirGate filed during the second quarter of 2002 attributed to its acquisition of now-bankrupt Sprint PCS affiliate iPCS Inc.
Net customer additions fell from 53,009 subscribers the carrier reported during the second quarter of 2002 to a loss of 977 customers this year, which included a loss of 6,732 customers by iPCS’ operations. Contributing to the customer loss was a drop in gross customer additions from 100,549 subscribers during the second quarter of 2002 to 57,108 subscribers this year and an increase in customer churn from 3.65 percent last year to 4.14 percent this year. Average revenue per user also fell from $60.48 during the second quarter of 2002 to $54.93 this year.
AirGate’s management added that the company met all of the covenants under its credit facility during the quarter.
