T-Mobile USA today announced second-quarter earnings that while still a far cry from good, at least showed a paring of losses in the second quarter. The carrier reported total revenues of $5.05 billion, down slightly from $5.16 billion in the previous quarter. Service revenues remained flat at $4.6 billion.
T-Mobile reported adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) of $1.3 billion in the second quarter of 2011, compared to $1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2011 and $1.4 billion in the second quarter of 2010. The company said OIBDA was adjusted in the second quarter of 2011 to exclude AT&T transaction-related costs of $13 million, primarily consisting of employee-related expenses.
While a loss of 50,000 customers in the second quarter is nothing special, it is better than the 99,000 subscribers T-Mobile lost in the first quarter of 2011 and the 93,000 it dropped during the same quarter of 2010. Contract churn remained steady at 2.4 percent, while blended churn rose slightly over the previous quarter from 3.3 percent to 3.4 percent.
Blended average revenue per user (ARPU) was $46 in the second quarter of 2011, consistent with the first quarter of 2011, but lower than $47 in the second quarter of 2010, which the company attributed to a shift in the customer base towards prepaid plans. Contract ARPU was $53 in the second quarter of 2011, up from $52 in the first quarter of 2011 and each of the previous four quarters.
T-Mobile is currently reorganizing its retail business after losing a contract with Radio Shack to Verizon Wireless. Earlier this week, the carrier announced a new partnership with 7-Eleven Stores to provide a prepaid, no-contract handset and service through the retail chain’s 7-Eleven stores.
Back in March, Deutsche Telekom AG, T-Mobile’s parent company, and AT&T entered into a definitive agreement under which AT&T will acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom in a cash and stock transaction valued at about $39 billion, subject to adjustment in accordance with the agreement.
