Rural wireless provider Western Wireless Corp. reported $276.1 million in domestic revenues during the third quarter of this year, which was a 6-percent improvement compared with the $260.6 million the carrier posted during the third quarter of 2003. Roaming revenues dropped from $61.1 million during the third quarter of 2003 to $53.1 million this year, which Western Wireless attributed to contractual rate reductions that offset a 16-percent increase in roaming minutes of use.
Including its international operations, Western Wireless posted a 24-percent increase in total revenues during the third quarter from $401.3 million last year to $497.5 million this year.
Consolidated net income also increased from a loss of $18.5 million during the third quarter of 2003, a loss of 23 cents per share, to a return of $30.4 million this year, or a return of 30 cents per share.
Western Wireless also reported adjustments to previously reported financial results that forced the carrier to delay its third-quarter financial reporting originally scheduled for last week. Those adjustments included accounting for certain direct labor costs associated with network construction at the carrier’s international operations.
The adjustments include an increase in net income for the first half of this year from $72.4 million to an adjusted net income of $77.6 million, as well as adjustments to full-year 2003 net income from a loss of $300,000 to a loss of $2.8 million, for the full year 2002 from a loss of $185.7 million to $183.8 million, and for full year 2001 from a loss of $155.1 million to a loss of $148.9 million.
Western Wireless noted that it will file restated documents related to the adjustments with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The carrier also posted 28,400 domestic net customer additions during the third quarter of this year, which was a 35-percent year-over-year increase compared with the third quarter of 2003. The carrier ended the third quarter with more than 1.35 million total domestic customers, including 6,200 prepaid subscribers who Western Wireless did not previously include in its reported customer base.
Postpaid customer churn remained stable year-over-year at 2.4 percent, while average revenue per user increased slightly from $50.15 during the third quarter of 2003 to $51.27 this year. Cash cost per user also improved from $25 last year to $24.65 this year, while the cost per gross addition dropped from $384 during the third quarter of 2003 to $356 this year.
