MetroPCS posts robust Q2 results, shares down

MetroPCS Communications Inc. reported a quarter of strong growth following its debut on the public market, as the company’s net income jumped and it added 155,000 subscribers.
The flat-rate provider’s total revenues were up 50% year-over-year to $551 million, and its net income increased from $23 million in the second quarter of 2006 to $58 million this year.
The carrier’s service revenues increased from $308 million to $479 million in the second quarter of 2007. MetroPCS’ average revenue per user was also up, from $42.86 in 2006’s second quarter to $43.18 in 2007. The carrier’s churn increased from 4.5% to 4.8% year-over-year.
The company also has been able to keep its costs in line, with cost per gross add mostly flat and cost per user down 9% from the second quarter of 2006.
MetroPCS ended the quarter with around 1 million customers in its expansion markets and about 2.5 million in its core markets, for a total of nearly 3.5 million customers.
Despite the largely positive results, the carrier’s stock was down 18% to around $32 per share.