DALLAS-CellStar Corp. said its net income increased 58 percent to $4.5 million, or 24 cents per share, on 18.6 million shares outstanding for third quarter 1994, ended Aug. 31.
Revenues for the third quarter rose 92 percent to $138.6 million. Increases were primarily a result of strong domestic wholesale sales of cellular phones and accessories and cellular phone sales in China, as well as successes in Mexico and South America, according to the company.
CellStar said it continues to focus on expanding in international markets. The company announced an agreement with Motorola for wholesale distribution of cellular phones in China in May. In the third quarter, CellStar said it shipped about 50,000 cellular phones to China through its 50 percent venture in Hong Kong. The company also began wholesale and retail operations in Colombia in the third quarter, with locations in Bogota, Medellin and Cali.
In the United States, CellStar recently announced an expansion program with Sam’s Club as part of an exclusive agreement with the discount store whereby CellStar can operate full service centers in selected Sam’s Clubs.
U S West earnings total $318 million for quarter
ENGLEWOOD, Colo.-U S West Inc. reported strong earnings and growth for the third-quarter ended Sept. 30, with net income up 8.2 percent to $318 million from $294 million last year.
Revenue for the third quarter increased 7.3 percent to $2.77 billion, from $2.59 billion and volume growth yielded a 10.7 percent in U S West’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. These numbers exclude the company’s $1 billion restructuring charge in 1993.
Third-quarter earnings totaled 70 cents per share, equal to the normalized earnings per share from continuing operations reported a year ago, despite issuing 38 million additional shares of stock.
In the telecommunications sector, net income was $285 million, up 14.5 percent from the normalized income of $249 million a year ago. The telephone company’s revenue grew 5.5 percent to $2.27 billion from $2.15 billion in 1993. Cellular operations added a record 304,000 subscribers, a 59 percent increase from a year ago and subscribers to U S West’s international wireless joint ventures increased nearly five-fold to 267,700.
Other factors contributing to U S West Cellular’s financial results include a July announcement to merge its domestic cellular assets with AirTouch Communications and a mobile telephone joint venture with Cable & Wireless plc in the United Kingdom called Mercury One-2-One.
Vanguard’s loss improves by 86 percent in quarter
GREENSBORO, N.C.-Vanguard Cellular Systems Inc. reported strong third-quarter results for the period ended Sept. 30, with a 64 percent increase in net subscribers, adding 21,000 for a total of 190,000, and service revenues reaching a record $40.1 million, 45 percent higher than last year.
The increase in service revenues is credited to growth in new subscribers and roaming revenues. However, average monthly revenue per subscriber decreased 10 percent due to the growth rate of subscribers exceeding the growth rate of roaming revenues.
Net loss for the third quarter improved 86 percent to $263,000, or .01 cent per share, compared to $1.8 million a year ago.
Operating cash flow rose 40 percent to a record $12 million during the third quarter; income from operations increased to $6 million or 15 percent of service revenues, a 242 percent increase from last year.
Factoring into third-quarter success were Vanguard’s acquisitions of five new cellular markets throughout the East Coast, adding about 23,000 subscribers and $20 million in property, plant and equipment when the deals are closed.
“The fundamentals of the business remain quite strong. We continue to aggressively improve the quality and reach of our cellular service, which has the effect of further stimulating demand,” commented Haynes Griffin, company president and chief executive officer. “This cycle increases customer satisfaction and contributes to the compounding effect in our results.”
