Regional wireless operator Ntelos fleshed out its fourth quarter financial results, with customer retention efforts impacting its bottom line.
Despite posting a solid 3.7% year-over-year increase in revenues during the fourth quarter to $121.8 million in 2013, increased expenses related to “increased equipment subsidy, retention and network expenses” pushed operating expenses up more than 10%. That change resulted in a dip in net income from a return of $321,000 during the final three months of 2012 to a loss of $784,000 in 2013.
Ntelos began offering Apple’s iPhone product line in early 2012, providing the device to customers at price points $50 cheaper than standard pricing from larger carriers. At that time, Ntelos’ management said it did not expect the pricing advantage to have a material impact on its bottom line as the carrier also increased the monthly charge for smartphone data services.
For the full year, revenues increased 8.3% in 2013, while expenses increased just 6.5% helping the carrier increase full-year net income more than 34% to $24.7 million.
Helping to bolster revenues were increases in average revenue per user, which surged $1.33 during the fourth quarter to $54.11 and $3.45 for the full year to $54.02. That growth was on the back of data services, which witnessed a $3.70 increase year-over-year during Q4 to $24.73 and $2.78 for the full year to $22.78.
Ntelos posted a slight decrease in roaming revenues during the fourth quarter tied to its long-standing roaming relationship with Sprint. Revenues connected with that deal dropped from $40.7 million in 2012 to $39.3 million last year. For the full year, Sprint-related roaming revenues still managed to show a 3% increase to $167.7 million, though the Q4 trends indicates that growth could be slowing.
Ntelos reported last month limited Q4 results, including that it added 7,500 net customers during the quarter, which was down slightly from the 9,300 customers the carrier added the previous year. The drop was attributed to a steep decline in prepaid growth, with the carrier reporting the loss of 1,400 no-contract customers during the quarter. Postpaid growth was down only slightly year-over-year to 8,900 net additions during the final quarter of 2013.
Overall customer churn ticked up year-over-year from 2.8% in 2012 to 3.1% in 2013, with an increase in postpaid churn driving the change. Prepaid churn remained flat at 4.9% year-over-year. Ntelos said it ended 2013 with 464,600 customers on its network, having added 25,000 net customers during the year.
Bored? Why not follow me on Twitter
