MetroPCS on Thursday announced its fourth quarter 2011 subscriber results. The carrier added 197,000 net subscribers, which missed analyst expectations that the carrier would add between 214,000 and 250,000 net customer additions, Reuters said. The company stated that it ended the year with more than 9.3 million total subscribers and said it added about 1.2 million subscribers during the 2011 calendar year. Churn took a turn for the worse since the fourth quarter of 2010, however; the company reported 3.7% churn in the fourth quarter, up from 3.5% during the same period in 2010. That figure is an improvement over the 4.5% churn the carrier reported during the third quarter of 2011, however. MetroPCS’s full press release follows after the break.
MetroPCS Releases Fourth Quarter 2011 Subscriber Results
Fourth Quarter 2011 Subscriber Highlights Include:
Consolidated net subscriber additions of 197 thousand and approximately 1.2 million for the fourth quarter 2011 and full year 2011, respectivelyQuarterly churn of 3.7%, a sequential decrease of 80bps from the third quarter of 2011, and an increase of 20bps from the fourth quarter of 2010
Serve over 9.3 million subscribers, an increase of approximately 1.2 million subscribers or 15%, from the fourth quarter of 2010
DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 5, 2012– MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE: PCS), the nation’s leading provider of no annual contract, unlimited, flat-rate wireless communications service, today announced selected subscriber information for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2011.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, MetroPCS reported gross additions of approximately 1.22 million subscribers, which represents a 7% increase over the fourth quarter of 2010. The Company ended the fourth quarter of 2011 with over 9.3 million subscribers, which includes net additions during the quarter of 197 thousand subscribers. MetroPCS added approximately 1.2 million subscribers during the twelve months ended December 31, 2011. Churn for the fourth quarter of 2011 was 3.7% compared to 3.5% in the fourth quarter of 2010 and down from 4.5% in the third quarter of 2011. The decrease in churn from the third quarter of 2011 was primarily driven by normal seasonal effects related to traditional retail selling periods, as well as improved network performance resulting from the investment in our CDMA network to meet increased data demands.
“We reported solid subscriber growth in the fourth quarter, adding 197 thousand net subscriber additions, marking the sixth consecutive year in which we have added over 1 million net subscriber additions. We were also pleased with our fourth quarter churn of 3.7% representing a significant sequential decrease,” said Roger D. Linquist, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MetroPCS.
Subscriber Metrics
Three Months Ended Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
December 31, 2011 December 31, 2010 December 31, 2011 December 31, 2010Consolidated Subscribers
End of Period 9,346,659 8,155,110 9,346,659 8,155,110Net Additions 197,410 297,726 1,191,549 1,515,586
Churn 3.7 % 3.5 % 3.8 % 3.6 %
The subscriber results for the fourth quarter of 2011 and the twelve months ended December 31, 2011 may not be reflective of subscriber results for any subsequent period.
