BELLEVUE, Wash.-Western Wireless Corp. said it added 21,700 domestic subscribers during the fourth quarter of 2002, compared with 19,000 net additions for the fourth quarter of 2001, and it ended last year with nearly 1.2 million customers. The increase in customer growth was helped by a drop in customer churn from 2.3 percent during the fourth quarter of 2001 to 2.2 percent during the final three months of last year.
Average revenue per user also increased from $43.43 during the fourth quarter of 2001 to $43.67 last year while the cost per gross addition dropped from $486 to $405 over the same time frame.
Total domestic revenues fell slightly from $222.2 million during the fourth quarter of 2001 to $221.4 million last year, mostly due to a drop in equipment sales. Consolidated revenues including Western Wireless’ international operations increased from $280.3 million during the fourth quarter of 2001 to $305 million last year.
Consolidated net losses dropped from $51.4 million during the fourth quarter of 2001, a loss of 65 cents per share, to $22.9 million last year, a loss of 29 cents per share.
For the year, domestic revenues decreased from $913.5 million in 2001 to $883.7 million last year, while consolidated revenues increased from $1.04 billion in 2001 to $1.19 billion last year. Consolidated net losses also increased from $155.1 million in 2001, a loss of $1.97 per share, to $185.7 million last year, a loss of $2.35 per share.
