Sprint Reports $1.24-Billion Loss
Sprint Corp., the third-largest U.S. long-distance telephone company, said Monday that it lost $1.24 billion in the fourth quarter because of costs to cut jobs and to end a data-services project that drew too few users.
The loss was $1.35 a share, compared with a loss of $416 million, or 42 cents, a year ago. Revenue fell 7% to $6.6 billion.
Per-share results reflect payment of preferred dividends.
Excluding one-time items, Sprint earned 27 cents a share, compared with 41 cents a year earlier and missing analysts’ estimate of 30 cents.
Westwood, Kan.-based Sprint announced its results after the close of regular trading. The company’s shares fell $1.21, or 7%, to $16.01 in heavy volume on the New York Stock Exchange. In after-hours trading, the stock recovered some ground, rising to $17.
Sprint, which is slashing 7,500 jobs, has had five straight sales declines as it loses customers to new competitors.
The company had expenses of $1.80 billion related to job cuts and ending its ION project. ION, which Sprint spent $2 billion building, was to allow customers to simultaneously call, send faxes and access the Internet on a single line.
Sprint and its rivals have been hurt by competition as the Baby Bells entered the long-distance market and customers shift to e-mail. Meanwhile, its wireless telephone arm, Sprint Corp.-PCS Group, suffered as a result of slowing growth in the U.S. wireless market. Sprint’s main local and long-distance telephone and data business, FON Group, lost $904 million, or $1.02 a share, compared with a profit of $99 million, or 11 cents, a year ago, as revenue fell 8.7% to $4.01 billion.
PCS, the fourth-biggest U.S. wireless operator, narrowed its loss to $328 million, or 33 cents a share, after preferred dividends, from $512 million, or 53 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 42% to $2.76 billion.
Shares of Sprint PCS fell $1.83, or 12%, to $13.76 on the NYSE. They’ve fallen 44% this year.
In other technology earnings news Monday:
* Priceline.com reported fourth-quarter results that beat expectations slightly, but its outlook for this year sent its stock down sharply.
The Norwalk, Conn.-based name-your-own-price Internet company reported a net loss of $1.3million, or 1 cent a share, for the October-December period. That was much narrower than a loss of $105 million, or 62 cents a share, for the fourth quarter a year earlier, when the company had substantial downsizing costs.
Excluding one-time gains and losses, Priceline.com reported a pro forma profit of $3.3 million, or 1 cent a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call expected a break-even quarter before one-time items.
Priceline confirmed expectations for this year of pro forma profit of 12 cents a share. Shares of Priceline.com closed down $1.49, or 23.5%, at $4.83 Monday on Nasdaq.
For the first quarter this year, Priceline.com said it expects its pro forma results to range from break-even to a profit of 2 cents a share and revenue of $260 million to $290 million. Analysts had expected revenue of $299 million and profit of 2 cents a share.
