Sprint Nextel 1Q deficit widens, fewer subscribers

Overland Park, Kan.-based Sprint said its loss totaled $505 million, or 18 cents per share, in the three months ended March 31 compared with a loss of $211 million, or 7 per share, during the first quarter of last year.

Not including a number of one-time charges, including $231 million for severance and asset impairment and $86 million in deal-related costs, the company said it earned 4 cents per share, compared to 18 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue fell 7.5 percent to $9.3 billion from $10.1 billion a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had expected earnings of 2 cents per share on $9.4 billion in sales.

Its shares rose 18 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $9.56 in late morning trading after falling almost 3 percent earlier in the session.

Sprint, which has struggled since buying Nextel Communications Inc. in 2005, said its total subscriber base fell by 1.09 million to 52.8 million, including the loss of 1.07 million post-paid customers who pay a monthly bill.

That was actually smaller than the 1.2 million in post-paid losses the company had forecast last quarter.

Post-paid churn, or the measure of customers dropping service, was 2.45 percent during the quarter, an increase from the first quarter of 2007 and last quarter. Average revenue generated per post-paid user fell 6 percent from last year to $56.

"As expected, our wireless business delivered weak financial results," Sprint Chief Executive Officer Dan Hesse said. "While the business will continue to face challenges in the short term, we are making progress in methodically attacking the sources of our performance issues."