Regional telecommunications provider Ntelos Holdings continued to show strong customer reception to its service, posting customer growth across postpaid and prepaid segments.
Ntelos reported that it added 3,800 customers during the second quarter, including 3,600 subscribers to its prepaid service and 200 customers to postpaid offerings. That growth was down sequentially from the 11,400 customers the carrier added during the first quarter, but slightly ahead of the 3,500 customers added during the second quarter of 2012. Ntelos ended the latest quarter with 454,800 total customers on its network, including 298,700 postpaid and 156,100 prepaid subscribers.
The carrier posted solid growth despite mixed churn numbers, with overall churn inching up year-over-year from 2.6% to 2.7%, though it was down sequentially from 2.8%. Postpaid churn dipped year-over-year to 1.8%, while prepaid churn increased from 4.2% in 2012 to 4.4% this year.
In addition to a swelling customer base, subscriber spending surged from $49.41 in average revenue per user during the second quarter of 2012 to $53.82 this year, with data ARPU growing $2.49 year-over-year to $22.14.
Ntelos’ overall financial picture also showed improvement, with operating revenues increasing 7.4% year-over-year to $119.9 million during the second quarter. Total operating expenses increased just 1.4%, bolstering operating income more than 42% to $23.6 million for the quarter. Taking out interest expenses, Ntelos posted a 67% increase in net income to $9.4 million for the quarter.
Ntelos’ management cited its wholesale agreement with Sprint as a significant driver of revenues during the quarter, with that agreement adding $41.4 million to its coffers. Ntelos also said it remains on track to launch commercial LTE services across portions of its network during the second half of this year. The carrier had previously announced plans to have 70% of its potential customer base covered with LTE services by the end of 2014, with the network serving both its own customers as well as roaming customers from Sprint.
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