Alltel Corp. posted 157,741 net customer additions during the first three months of this year, which was slightly below the 159,251 subscribers the carrier added during the first quarter of 2003 that included nearly 111,000 customers added through acquisitions. Alltel ended the first quarter of this year with 8.2 million customers and maintained its position as the nation’s seventh-largest carrier.
The carrier reported customer churn dropped from 2.66 percent during the first quarter of 2003 to 2.4 percent this year, while average revenue per user increased slightly from $45.59 last year to $45.96 this year. Alltel’s cost per gross addition increased year-over-year from $285 to $299, while its cash cost per user increased from $20.15 during the first quarter of 2003 to $20.88 this year.
Total wireless revenues increased 7 percent from $1.1 billion last year to $1.2 billion this year, but it was not enough to grow wireless income, which sank 11 percent from $236 million during the first quarter of 2003 to $211 million this year. Alltel also posted a 3-percent drop in total net income including its wireline operations from $227.6 million last year, a return of 73 cents per share, to $221.5 million this year, a return of 71 cents per share.
“Alltel experienced very strong wireless customer growth as we improved our gross additions and post-pay churn in the first quarter,” explained Scott Ford, president and chief executive officer of Alltel. “Though dilutive to first-quarter earnings, this growth bolsters the future earnings potential of our wireless business.”
