ALEXANDRIA, Minn.-Rural Cellular Corp. reported a 5-percent increase in total revenues from $113.9 million during the first quarter of 2003 to $119.8 million this year, which the carrier attributed to an increase in local service revenue per customer from $40 last year to $43 this year and an increase in Universal Service Fund support subsidies from $383,000 during the first quarter of 2003 to $2.8 million this year.
The carrier’s total roaming revenues dropped more than 11 percent to $25.7 million during the first quarter of 2004, which Rural Cellular said reflected the March 1 transfer of its Oregon RSA-4 property to AT&T Wireless Services Inc. together with a drop in outcollect yield from 21 cents per minute in 2003 to 19 cents per minute this year.
Despite the revenue increase, net loss jumped from $10.5 million last year, a loss of 87 cents per share, to $18.5 million this year, a loss of $1.51 per share, due to a nearly $20 million year-over-year increase in interest expenses related to dividends on securities and $11.8 million in charges related to the early retirement of debt under its former credit agreement.
Net customer additions during the first quarter increased from 6,333 in 2003 to 9,101 this year, but when including the market swap with AWS, Rural Cellular lost 21,254 customers during the first quarter of this year.
