NII grows to 4 million subs

NII Holdings Inc., the international operations of the former Nextel Communications Inc., reported a record quarter for subscriber additions and operating revenues, and pushed its customer base past 4 million subscribers.
The company provides iDEN wireless service in Latin American countries including Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Chile, targeting business customers. NII Holdings added more than 330,000 net new customers in the second quarter, up 51% from nearly 219,000 customers in the second quarter of 2006. The carrier increased its average revenue per user as well, to $58 from $57 in the prior year’s second quarter. Its consolidated churn rate rose slightly, from 1.5% in last year’s second quarter to 1.6% this year.
Consolidated operating revenues were nearly $786 million for the quarter, an increase of 41% year-over-year. Net income was $84 million, up from about $56 million in the previous year’s second quarter.
NII Holdings ended the quarter with about 1.8 million customers in Mexico; around 1 million Brazil; about 726,000 in Argentina and almost 400,000 in Peru. The company said that it expanded its network coverage and launched service in 20 new cities during the second quarter.