Sprint Nextel has reported a net loss of $594m for the first quarter 2009, against a loss of $505m in the year-ago quarter, on revenue down 12.1% at $8.2 billion. It incurred severance and exit costs of $202m in the quarter.
It made an operating loss of $487m, compared to $498m last year. The net loss per share was $0.21 compared to loss per share of $0.18 in the same period last year. Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter was $4.5 billion.
The company said wireless revenue fell 11.7% to $7.03 billion, while wireline revenue decreased 10.1% to $1.46 billion. It said total wireless subscribers declined by 182,000. The total number of customers in the quarter was 49.1 million compared to 49.3 million last year.
Dan Hesse, chief executive at Sprint Nextel, said: In the first quarter, we made progress in financial stability, improving the customer experience and reinvigorating the brand. We achieved the largest sequential improvement in overall gross ads and net ads in our history, reduced churn versus the prior year, and generated more than enough cash to pay all of our 2009 debt maturities.
