Sprint Reports Overall Profit, PCS Group Loss Declines

Sprint Monday reported consolidated second quarter 2003 income of $7 million, versus a loss of $68 million for the year ago period. Consolidated revenue for the quarter was $6.5 billion, compared with $6.7 billion last year.

Broken out, Overland Park , Kan.-based Sprint's FON Group, which consists of Sprint's global market division, local division and wholesale and telecommunications products businesses, reported income $99 million, or 11 cents per share, down from $102 million, or 12 cents per share reported for the year ago quarter.

First Call Thompson estimates for the FON Group were for earnings of 33 cents per share. Excluding charges for terminating its web hosting operations and executive separation agreements, the FON Group had earnings of 35 cents per share.

FON Group revenue was $3.5 billion, versus $3.8 billion a year ago.

The PCS Group narrowed its loss, but still impacted Sprint's bottom line with a $92 million loss, or 9 cents per share, on sales of $3.1 billion. For the year-ago quarter, Sprint PCS had a loss of $170 million, or 17 cents per share, on sales of $3.02 billion.

First Call estimates were for a loss of 11 cents for the PCS Group.

Throughout a call with analysts Monday, Len Lauer, president of the PCS unit, focused on the average monthly service revenue per user (ARPU) of Sprint customers. For the quarter the ARPU was $62, a one dollar increase over the year-ago period, and customer churn declined from 3.1 percent in the first quarter to 2.4 percent during the second quarter. The PCS Group also added 617,000 new customers during the quarter.

Sprint executives also emphasized the carrier's overall free cash flow in the second quarter of $925 million.