MetroPCS’ stock stunned by Q2 results

The one-two punch of a typically slow quarter and overall economic challenges dazed regional wireless provider MetroPCS Communications Inc., which posted customer growth results for the second quarter that came up short of analysts’ expectations. The carrier said it added 183,530 net customers during the quarter, which was ahead of the 154,713 customers the carrier added for the same quarter in 2007, but below some analyst expectations of around 200,000 net customer additions.
MetroPCS’ stock was trading down more than 11% at around $15.22 per share following the news.
Boosting the carrier’s year-over-year growth was a reduction in customer churn from 4.8% in 2007 to 4.5% this year, which made up for a slight drop in gross customer additions during the quarter. MetroPCS said it ended the first half of the year with nearly 4.6 million customers on its network, solidifying its position as the No. 7 carrier in the country.
“Achieving 184,000 net additions during the seasonally slow second quarter, coupled with a challenging economic environment highlighted by dramatically escalating prices for fuel and food, strongly demonstrates the resiliency of the MetroPCS business model,” said company chairman, president and CEO Roger Linquist.
In addition to its launch in Philadelphia on July 1, MetroPCS recently launched service in Shreveport/Bossier City, La.; Jacksonville, Fla., and Bakersfield, Calif., and plans to soon launch service in New York City and Boston.