Sprint’s customer base may have taken a hit in the first quarter, but the company did manage a balance sheet that showed narrowing losses and sent shares of the company soaring.
In its most recent fiscal quarter, Sprint posted a net loss of $151 million for the quarter, which amounted to a 77 percent improvement over the same quarter last year when the company lost $643 million. Adjusted EBITDA of $1.84 billion ammounted to a 22 percent increase annually, while adjusted EBITDA margin was 23.4 percent and the highest in almost 6 years.
And while the financials at Sprint appeared to be improving, the company lost subscribers at an alarming rate. Sprint reported a net loss of 231,000 Sprint platform postpaid customers during the quarter, which the company attributed to service disruptions associated with an ongoing network overhaul. In all, Sprint says its platform now serves 54 million subscribers.
In a statement, CEO Dan Hesse said the company expected to have its core 3G and voice network overhaul compelted by the middle of 2014.
When asked during an earnings call about whether Sprint would pursue spectrum in the upcoming AWS auction, CEO Dan Hesse kept his cards close to his vest.
“We’ll evalute any spectrum opportunities when they come about,” Hesse said.
Sprint expects calendar 2014 Adjusted EBITDA to be between $6.7 billion and $6.9 billion, with 2014 CapEx of approximately $8 billion. In an earnings call, the company also promised it to bring subscriber gains back to a net positive withint the next 6 months.
Investors were apparently encouraged by the fact that Sprint is at least pointed in the right direction. Shares were up 10 percent to $8.21 as of 10 a.m. CST.
Filed Under: Carriers
