CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa.-Sprint PCS affiliate UbiquiTel Inc. reported preliminary full-year 2003 results showing the carrier added 70,700 net subscribers last year compared with 78,200 net additions during 2002. The carrier said it ended 2003 with 327,700 customers and that it expects to add between 60,000 and 80,000 new subscribers this year.
Customer churn dropped from 4.2 percent during 2002 to 3.2 percent last year, while average revenue per user decreased from $58 in 2002 to $57 last year. UbiquiTel said it expects churn to be between 3 percent and 3.2 percent for all of 2004, with ARPU of between $55 and $56.
Total revenues increased year-over-year from $220.8 million in 2002 to $273.3 million last year, and are expected to increase this year to between $343 million and $363 million. Free cash flow also improved from a loss of $81.9 million in 2002 to a loss of $1 million last year, with the carrier forecasting between $12 million and $20 million in positive free cash flow for all of 2004.
UbiquiTel also announced it intends to offer $250 million in aggregate principal amount of its senior notes due 2011 as part of a debt offering. The carrier said if it completes the offering, it will use net proceeds to repay and terminate its senior secured credit facility, which as of the end of last year outstanding $230 million in borrowings, and to redeem its 14 percent series B senior discount notes due 2008 valued at approximately $12.2 million.
