Sprint PCS affiliate US Unwired Inc. reported 11,508 net customer additions during the third quarter of this year, which was a significant improvement compared with the 2,656 subscribers the carrier added during the third quarter of 2003. US Unwired said it ended the third quarter with 680,213 total subscribers.
Bolstering its strong growth was a reduction in customer churn from 3.5 percent during the third quarter of 2003 to 3.3 percent this year and a 21.5-percent increase in gross subscriber additions from 68,635 customers during the third quarter of 2003 to 83,375 subscribers this year. US Unwired also noted that resale customers increased from 46,593 subscribers at the end of the third quarter last year to 139,836 subscribers this year.
Average revenue per user dropped nearly $1 year-over-year from $55.27 during the third quarter of 2003 to $54.28 this year while the cost per gross addition dropped nearly 18-percent from $372 last year to $306 this year.
US Unwired’s total revenues increased 9.7 percent year-over-year from $139.3 million during the third quarter of 2003 to $152.8 million this year. Roaming revenues also increased slightly from $34.5 million last year to $35.7 million this year.
Net losses improved from a loss of $31.3 million during the third quarter of 2003, or a loss of 25 cents per share, to a loss of $16.2 million this year, or a loss of 10 cents per share. US Unwired added that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased 40.7 percent from $21.7 million last year to a record $30.5 million this year.
