On
Friday, the fourth-largest carrier posted a fiscal first-quarter loss
of 175,000 total subscribers, a reverse of the gain of 57,000 net new
subscribers in the year-ago period. In last fiscal year's fourth
quarter, it lost around 8,000 subscribers.
The
company added 262,000 net data devices, which were offset by a 128,000
fall in phone users. This was a slight boost from the 169,000 net data
devices added last quarter.
The first quarter of this fiscal year ended with 54.3 million subscribers, falling slightly behind last quarter's 54.5 million.
Sprint
also posted a net loss of $114 million, compared with a profit of $173
million in the year-ago period. Total operating net revenue came out at
$8.1 billion, which was higher than the $8.06 billion Yahoo Finance
analysts predicted. Wireless service revenue alone was $5.3 billion,
which was a 3% decline year over year.
The results reflect the
state of Sprint as it bides its time awaiting the merger with T-Mobile.
The last-place national carrier has long lagged behind its larger
rivals. The company has suffered from even weaker growth in the last few
quarters after paring back a lot of its aggressive promotions.
"While
we delivered good results in the first quarter relative to
expectations, the business still faces several structural headwinds and I
remain convinced the merger with T-Mobile is the best outcome for our
customers, employees, industry and all stakeholders," Sprint CEO Michel Combes said in a statement.
Sprint
has 5G networks in five metropolitan areas: Atlanta, Chicago,
Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Kansas City. It will launch New York
City, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. in the upcoming weeks
and believes its 5G footprint will cover 11 million people and 2,100
square miles. Current 5G phones it has include the LG V50 ThinQ 5G and
Samsung Galaxy S10 5G. T-Mobile, on the other hand has 5G networks in six cities: Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York.
It's hard to say whether Sprint's chapter in telecommunications will close forever, as 14 states have joined forces in a lawsuit opposing the merger deal for
fear of higher prices. The latest state to join the lawsuit is Texas.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday said he has an
"independent obligation to protect Texas consumers," and to "preserve
free market competition, which has proven to result in lower prices and
better quality for consumers."
As part of the merger with
T-Mobile, both companies will be branded as the "new T-Mobile," with
T-Mobile CEO John Legere's team running the operations. Dish will
receive a part of Sprint's 800 MHz spectrum and gain access to the "new
T-Mobile's" network for seven years.
Sprint didn't immediately
respond to a request for comment and won't host its customary analyst
conference call to discuss its results.
Sprint shares fell 4.2 percent Friday to $6.88.
Watch this:
T-Mobile and Sprint merger gets the OK, Apple's 5G plans
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