Sprint, the No.4 U.S. wireless carrier, reported slightly better-than expected revenue as heavy discounts helped it attract the most postpaid subscribers on a net basis for any first quarter in nine years.
Sprint (S), whose shares were up 3.9% in premarket trading, reported 173,000 postpaid wireless additions in the quarter ended June 30, compared with a net loss of 12,000 in the same period last year.
The quarter also had the lowest postpaid phone churn in the company’s history, Chief Executive Marcelo Claure said in a statement on Monday.
Postpaid phone user churn, or the rate at which subscribers defect to other networks, was 1.39%.
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However, the company’s net loss widened to $302 million, or eight cents per share, from $20 million, or one cent per share, a year earlier.
The latest quarter included contract termination charges of $113 million, primarily related to an agreement with wireless carrier Ntelos.
Sprint, majority owned by Japan’s SoftBank, said its net operating revenue fell marginally to $8.01 billion. Analysts on average had expected $7.98 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.
Up to Friday’s close of $4.62, Sprint’s shares had risen 27.6% since the start of the year.
