MetroPCS nearly doubles Q1 net additions

Flat-rate carrier MetroPCS Communications Inc. came close to doubling its net subscriber figures for the first quarter of 2007 and boosted its service revenues by 60%, according to its quarterly results.
The company said it gained more than 454,000 net users in the quarter, up from about 245,000 subscriber additions in the prior first quarter. Customer growth in the carrier’s core markets was essentially flat (about 184,000 net new customers in the first quarters of both 2006 and 2007), and the increase in customers came largely from expansion markets. However, service revenues in the core markets increased from about $265 million in the first quarter of 2006 to nearly $337 million in 2007’s first period. Overall, service revenues were up 60% to $440 million for the quarter. MetroPCS said that services revenues were up mostly due to the influx of new customers, plus some migration of existing subscribers to higher-priced plans.
MetroPCS’ core markets include Miami; Atlanta; and Sacramento and San Francisco, Calif. Its expansion markets are Tampa, Orlando and Sarasota, Fla.; Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas; Detroit; and Los Angeles.
MetroPCS reported profits of $36 million for the quarter, doubling its $18 million net income in the first quarter of 2006.
The carrier reported average revenue per user of $43.75, an increase of about 1.5% from the $43.12 recorded in 2006’s first quarter. MetroPCS also trimmed its churn rate from 4.4% to 4%.
The company noted that its cost-per-gross-add was relatively flat and that it had cut costs per user by 8% due to benefits of scale and leveraging its existing infrastructure.
“The first quarter represented our continued commitment to strong financial discipline coupled with significant growth,” said J. Braxton Carter, CFO of MetroPCS. “Our continued focus on costs has helped drive profitability to record levels for MetroPCS.”