Helio’s revenues increase while net loss widens

Mobile virtual network operator Helio scored $171 million in revenue during 2007, way up from the $46 million in revenue the company reported in 2006.
However, the company’s net loss also continues to widen: In 2006, Helio’s net loss was $192 million, and in 2007 that number increased to $326 million. The losses do not come as a surprise; for example, Helio’s advertising spend jumped from $21.6 million in 2006 to $47.5 million in 2007.
Helio reported that it has raised a total of around $600 million, and that it has remaining around $45 million in “cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities.”
Helio’s numbers were included in parent EarthLink Inc.’s annual financial report with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The MVNO was founded as a joint venture between EarthLink and Korean firm SK Telecom. However, EarthLink’s mounting troubles (the company recently exited the municipal Wi-Fi business) forced it to quit funding Helio. SK Telecom now stands as Helio’s remaining active parent.
Helio is one of a few remaining MVNOs; ventures including Disney Mobile, Mobile ESPN, Amp’d Mobile Inc. and Voce have bowed out of the market over the past several years.