OKLAHOMA CITY-Dobson Communications Corp. reported 13,000 net subscriber additions during the recently completed second quarter compared with 20,100 net customer additions posted for the second quarter of 2002. The carrier posted slower customer growth this year despite a drop in postpaid customer churn from 1.7 percent to 1.5 percent.
Dobson added that postpaid average revenue per user fell from $45 during the second quarter of 2002 to $43 this year and that cash cost per user dropped from $24 last year to $21 this year.
Total revenues increased from $142.3 million during the second quarter of 2002 to $154.2 million this year, while net income increased from a loss of $132.1 million last year, a loss of $1.45 per share, to a gain of $225.9 million this year, a return of $2.43 per share.
Dobson’s American Cellular Corp. joint venture with AT&T Wireless Services Inc. posted $116.9 million in total revenues during the second quarter of 2003 compared with $115.8 million during the second quarter of 2002. Net income also increased from a loss of $381.6 million last year to a return of $2.1 million this year.
American Cellular’s net customer additions dropped from 15,700 reported during the second quarter of 2002 to 5,400 subscriber additions this year. Customer churn remained steady at 1.7 percent, while ARPU dropped from $40 last year to $39 during the second quarter of 2003.
