NII Holdings | April 28, 2011 | Press Release
Company achieves record level of Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization
– Net subscriber additions of 403,000
– Consolidated operating revenues of $1.62 billion
– Consolidated operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) of $431 million
– Consolidated operating income of $275 million and consolidated net income of $97 million, or $0.57 per basic share
RESTON, Va., April 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — NII Holdings, Inc. [NASDAQ: NIHD] today announced its consolidated financial results for the first quarter of 2011.  During the quarter, the company added 403,000 net subscribers to its network, bringing its ending subscriber base to more than 9.4 million, a 21 percent increase in the ending subscriber base compared with the subscriber base on March 31, 2010.  Financial results for the quarter included consolidated operating revenues of $1.62 billion, a 26 percent increase compared with the first quarter of 2010, and consolidated OIBDA of $431 million for the quarter, a 26 percent increase compared with the same period last year.  For the first quarter of 2011, the company generated consolidated operating income of $275 million and consolidated net income of $97 million, or $0.57 per basic share.
The company continued to invest in the expansion of the coverage and capacity of its networks reporting consolidated first quarter 2011 capital expenditures of $218 million, of which $135 million was invested in Brazil and Mexico.
“We are excited about the way we started the year, delivering record levels of OIBDA and strong subscriber growth during the first quarter,” said Steve Dussek, NII Holdings’ chief executive officer.  “We continue to drive profitable growth in our business as we target customers who value our key differentiators including our prestigious brand, world class customer service and growing Push-to-Talk (PTT) community.  Our strong growth in both subscribers and cash flow reflects our success in attracting and retaining high-value customers and driving operational efficiencies.  The addition of our 3G platform in Peru and our planned 3G network deployments in Brazil, Mexico and Chile will enable us to provide more products and services designed to meet the needs of an expanded group of potential customers and help to ensure we are positioned to drive sustained levels of profitable growth in the future,” he added.
NII Holdings’ consolidated average monthly service revenue per subscriber (ARPU) was $49 for the first quarter of 2011, up $2when compared with the same period last year, driven by improving local currency exchange rates. The company also reported churn of 1.61 percent for the first quarter, a slight improvement over the level reported for the same period last year.  Consolidated cost per gross add (CPGA) was $286 for the first quarter of 2011, up $8 compared with the first quarter of 2010.
The company ended the quarter with approximately $3.6 billion in total long-term debt and $3.0 billion in consolidated cash and investments, resulting in net debt at the end of the quarter of approximately $605 million.
“The strong value proposition of our service offering and our focus on attracting and retaining profitable customers has enabled us to drive impressive financial and operational results for the quarter, as we generated a 21 percent increase in our ending subscriber base, a 26 percent increase in revenues and a 26 percent increase in OIBDA over the first quarter of last year,” saidGokul Hemmady, NII’s executive vice president and chief financial officer. Â “We believe that we are well-positioned to capitalize on the significant opportunity for growth that is available to us in our markets, but will continue to be disciplined in our operational focus as well as our capital allocation to ensure that we are generating significant returns on our current platform as well as our investment in future platforms.”
In addition to the preliminary results prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States(GAAP) provided throughout this press release, NII has presented consolidated OIBDA, ARPU, CPGA and Net Debt. These measures are non-GAAP financial measures and should be considered in addition to, but not as substitutes for, the information prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations from GAAP results to these non-GAAP financial measures are provided in the notes to the attached financial table. To view these and other reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures that the company uses and information about how to access the conference call discussing NII’s first quarter 2011 results, visit the investor relations link at www.nii.com.
About NII Holdings, Inc.
NII Holdings, Inc., a publicly held company based in Reston, Va., is a leading provider of mobile communications for business customers in Latin America. NII Holdings, Inc. has operations in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Chile offering a fully integrated wireless communications tool with digital cellular voice services, data services, wireless Internet access and Nextel Direct Connect® and International Direct Connect(SM), a digital two-way radio feature. NII Holdings, Inc., a Fortune 500 company, trades on the NASDAQ market under the symbol NIHD and is a member of the NASDAQ -100 Index. Visit the company’s website at www.nii.com.
