Sprint Posts Net Loss of $274M, Expects Merger to Close in Early 2020

Sprint touts 16 million people covered by its 5G network, as it hopes T-Mobile merger will close early in fiscal 2020.

Dan Jones, Mobile Editor

November 4, 2019

2 Min Read
Sprint Posts Net Loss of $274M, Expects Merger to Close in Early 2020

Sprint has reported a net loss of $274 million for its fiscal second quarter as it says it is in "the late stages" of its T-Mobile merger process.

Instead of an earnings call, Sprint released a management statement on Monday morning. "We remain optimistic about the remaining regulatory steps necessary to complete the merger as we continue to work with the California PUC [public utilities commission], various State Attorneys General, and all stakeholders," CEO Michel Combes says in a statement. "We currently expect the merger will be permitted to close early in calendar 2020."

Sprint claims to cover 16 million people in its early 5G rollout. Its first nine metropolitan markets include Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix and Washington, D.C.

"Initial 5G performance results showing a nearly 6X increase in average download speed compared to Sprint LTE," says Combes. "We now offer 5G capable smartphones from LG, Samsung, and OnePlus, us, along with a hotspot device from HTC." Sprint has said average downloads from its mid-band 2.5GHz 5G clock in at 203.8 Mbit/s.

Capital expenditure for the quarter was $1.1 billion, with Sprint spending on its massive MIMO deployment for its 5G rollout and LTE updates. This "represented the sixth consecutive quarter of more than $1 billion in spend due to continued investments in our Next-Gen Network initiatives," said CFO Andrew Davies in the statement. "With the continued deployment of Massive MIMO, we expect capital spending to remain around current run rates in the near term."

Sprint reported device net additions in wearables, tablets and other non-phone devices for the quarter. "We delivered postpaid net additions for the ninth consecutive quarter, with 273,000 in the fiscal second quarter," says Davies. "This is a result of executing our strategy to grow our relationship with customers through data devices such as tablets, watches, connected car products, and connected trackers."

Sprint reported that postpaid phone gross adds grew year-over-year for the first time in the last six quarters.

Net operating revenues of $7.8 billion for the quarter were down $638 million year-over-year for the fiscal second quarter. The operator reported a net loss of $274 million compared with net income of $196 million in the year.

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— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading

About the Author

Dan Jones

Mobile Editor

Dan is to hats what Will.I.Am is to ridiculous eyewear. Fedora, trilby, tam-o-shanter -- all have graced the Jones pate during his career as the go-to purveyor of mobile essentials.

But hey, Dan is so much more than 4G maps and state-of-the-art headgear. Before joining the Light Reading team in 2002 he was an award-winning cult hit on Broadway (with four 'Toni' awards, two 'Emma' gongs and a 'Brian' to his name) with his one-man show, "Dan Sings the Show Tunes."

His perfectly crafted blogs, falling under the "Jonestown" banner, have been compared to the works of Chekhov. But only by Dan.

He lives in Brooklyn with cats.

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