Leap Wireless posts a wider-than-expected quarterly loss

The last time we heard about Leap Wireless, they were in talks with some of their competitors and others in a potential buyout bid. The latest round of news for the prepaid wireless provider rocks the boat even more as they posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss – their subscriber growth was hurt due to fierce competition while they expect churn to remain higher than historical levels in the near term. Net customer additions fell to about 297,743 versus the the 385,292 they managed to acquire in the previous quarter. Throw in the fact that average revenue per user (APRU) fell to about 9 percent to $38.7 and churn rose to 4.7 percent from the previous 3.8 percent last year, it may signal the onset of aggressively expediting the process of finding a potential buyer for Leap Wireless. As MetroPCS was able to report a quarterly profit a few days ago that topped market estimates, they continue to be more aggressive in pricing – forcing a market share shift in December. Leap Wireless posted a Q4 net loss of $64 million, or 82 cents per share, when compared to the $54.6 million or 82 cents per share from the previous year.

source: Reuters