After turning a profit in the previous quarter, Sprint swung back to a loss during its latest financial period, the first with new CEO Marcelo Claure. The carrier reported a fiscal second quarter operating loss of $192 million on $8.5 billion in net operating revenue.
Subscriber losses continued for Sprint as well. The carrier lost 272,000 net postpaid subscribers but still managed to 590,000 net additions to the Sprint platform due to wholesale and prepaid net additions. The postpaid losses exceeded the 220,000 gave up in the previous quarter.
“While the company continues to face headwinds, we have begun the first phase of our plan and are encouraged with the early results. Every day we are focused on improving our standing with consumers, improving our network and controlling our costs,” Claure said in a statement.
On a Sprint earnings call Monday, Claure said he has seen “very encouraging” performance trends due to the new pricing plans Sprint recently announced. But he insisted that Sprint has yet to turn a corner.
As part of Sprint’s rebound strategy, the carrier announced it intends to cut another 2,000 positions, which will save the company $400 million in total labor costs. But Claure did announce a new call center for Sprint’s Overland Park, Kansas headquarters and 200 new jobs for that facility.
The carrier also lowered its full-year CapEx forecast to below $6 billion but insisted it will stay on schedule with its 2.5 GHz and 800 MHz LTE network buildouts. Sprint says its LTE network now covers 260 million people and that its 2.5 GHz now covers 92 million.
Sprint’s network expansion and reducing churn are the priorities at the top of Claure’s list right now.
During the call Claure outlined his Go Forward strategy for Sprint, which translates to focusing on positioning the carrier as a competitive value proposition in the market.
“As we offer the best value in wireless, we’re going to offer consumers three things: clarity, simplicity and value,” Claure closed with.
