Cincinnati Bell Inc. reported that it added 15,000 postpaid wireless customers in the fourth quarter of 2005-the company’s best wireless performance since the fourth quarter of 2001. However, the company’s overall earnings slipped from $18.3 million, or 7 cents per share, a year ago to $10 million, or 4 cents per share. Weakness in Cincinnati’s wireless revenue came from drops in voice and roaming revenue due to the merger of Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and the former AT&T Wireless Services Inc. AWS owned a minority stake in Cincinnati Bell’s wireless operations.
Cincinnati Bell’s prepaid customer additions came to 9,000, more than double Cincinnati Bell’s prepaid adds in the fourth quarter of 2004. The operator cited network improvements-and the resulting improved quality-for helping push its churn rate down to 1.8 percent, its fifth consecutive quarter of improvement. Indeed, the carrier’s churn dropped a full percentage point from its 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2004.
The company reported that its wireless segment generated quarterly revenue of $58 million and yearly revenue of $238 million, compared with $262 million a year ago. The decline came from lower voice and roaming revenue, but was partially offset by equipment and data revenue, according to the company.
Adjusted EBITDA was at $52 million, plunging $20 million from 2004 due to lower average revenue per user and an increase in customer acquisition expense, “which include handset costs associated with migrations to the GSM network,” the company said.
