Alltel notes record customer numbers in Q4

Alltel Corp., now a privately owned company following its $27.5 billion acquisition by private-equity firms, reported notable customer additions during the fourth quarter, numbers that made 2007 a record for the company in terms of subscriber gains.
The carrier beat out Wall Street predictions, adding more than 1 million gross customers during the quarter. Alltel’s net customer additions were 342,684 during the fourth quarter, marking a 50% increase from the year-ago period. On the year, it added 3.6 million gross customers and netted 965,831, a 51% increase from the previous year.
Churn dropped to 1.81% during the quarter, making it the eighth consecutive quarter the carrier has improved its customer-exodus measurement. Year-end churn dropped to 1.79%.
Average revenue per user (ARPU) reached $54.49 during the quarter while data revenue per user averages surged to $6.74, a 63% increase from a year ago. ARPU for the full year hit $54.30 while data revenues evened out at $5.87.
However, the nation’s fifth-largest carrier ended the fourth quarter with a net loss of $525 million, which it said was due primarily to costs associated with its acquisition by private-equity firms TPG Capital L.P. and the Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
“While Alltel’s ownership has changed, our focus remains the same — continuing to strike the balance between growing value for our shareholders over the long-term while continuing to provide outstanding service for our customers,” said President and CEO Scott Ford.