MetroPCS gains 132,000 users, sees profit drop 63%
updated 08:30 am EDT, Thu April 26, 2012
MetroPCS delivers mixed Q1 2012 results
MetroPCS has recorded a mixed first quarter result gaining 132,000 new users, but seeing profits slump 63 percent over the same period last year. Gross income was up at $1.3 billion against $1.2 billion against the same period last year, however the costly rollout of its new 4G network had an adverse impact on its bottom. This was compounded by what it called an increase in the ‘retention expense’ of attracting new users, which it calculated as being 16 percent higher than in the past.
MetroPCS says it minimized customer churn at 3.1 percent of its customer base, while it now has over 580,000 customers on 4G LTE plans. This represents 6 percent of its user base now established on the next-generation mobile network technology. A further highlight was that the telco managed to upgrade 16 percent of its existing subscribers from a feature phone to a new smartphone.
Overall, the MetroPCS says that it is well placed to deliver further growth moving forward. Its net profit for the quarter was $262 million while it now has a total subscriber base of 9.5 million customers.
