Nextel Communications Inc. added more than 677,000 new proportionate subscribers during the second quarter, giving the company approximately 6.2 million global subscribers, the company said.
The company’s growing subscriber base is a reflection of industrywide growth and demand. As such, Nextel President and Chief Executive Officer Tim Donahue said the company is considering future partnership opportunities.
Nextel unsuccessfully tried to merge with WorldCom Inc. last year.
“Each opportunity will be approached with the same rigor with which we approach our day-to-day business,” Donahue said, but would not name any potential partners.
For the quarter ended June 30, Nextel reported revenues of $1.26 billion, compared with $793 million reported for second-quarter 1999. Domestically, the company produced subscriber additions of 560,600 and recorded revenues of $1.2 billion, compared with revenues of $771 million for the same time the previous year.
Nextel said its net loss was $292 million, or 38 cents per share, for the quarter, compared with $315 million, or 52 cents per share, for the second quarter of 1999.
“We are encouraged by the strong initial customer demand for our new Nextel Worldwide global roaming service and excited about the enhanced differentiation that our new Nextel Online wireless Internet services are beginning to offer to broader groups of customers,” said Donahue.
Steve Shindler, Nextel’s chief financial officer and Nextel International’s CEO, said the company collects more than $20 of monthly cash flow per domestic subscriber, resulting in $3,700 of lifetime revenue per subscriber.
Nextel also recorded an average of 480 minutes of use per subscriber for the quarter, a 77-percent increase from the same time last year.
