Sprint has banner quarter, still posts net loss

Moments ago, Sprint released its earnings report card for the first quarter of 2011, and things are definitely improving. The company saw its largest increase in wireless customers in the last five years, adding 1.1 million subscribers across all Sprint brands — prepaid net additions totaled 846,000 lines and postpaid adds totaled 310,000 lines. The company also saw a spike in revenue and ARPU. Sprint posted revenues of $8.3 billion, up 3% year-over-year, and ARPU jump $1 year-over-year to $56. The company also noted its postpaid churn rate or 1.81 — down from 2.54 one year ago. The nation’s third largest carrier still posted a $439 million loss — a diluted loss per share of $0.15 — so you can’t really call the quarter a success. “We’ve added two million wireless subscribers over the past two quarters,” said company CEO, Dan Hesse. “In spite of Verizon’s iPhone launch and aggressive competitive responses to it, our simple and unlimited plans, 4G leadership, strong customer service, and successful multi-brand strategy drove solid Sprint performance for the quarter.” The link to Sprint’s full earnings statement is after the break.

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