Sprint delivers mixed Q4 but narrows losses

Sprint on Wednesday delivered mixed fourth quarter financial results.

The Overland Park, Kansas-based company reported a net loss of $283 million, or seven cents per share, compared to a loss of $554 million, or 14 cents per share, the year prior.

The nation’s fourth-largest wireless carrier posted net operating revenue of $8.54 billion, up five percent above the previous year.

Wall Street was expecting a loss of four cents per share on revenue of at $7.93 billion.

For the year, Sprint said losses narrowed to $1.21 billion, or 30 cents per share. Revenue was $33.35 billion.

“Sprint took a big step forward in the second year of our turnaround plan,” said Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure. “Net operating revenues returned to growth and cost reductions accelerated, leading to the highest operating income in a decade and a return to positive adjusted free cash flow.”

In terms of subscriber growth, Sprint said it added 42,000 net new post-paid subscribers, viewed as the most lucrative wireless customers. Total net customer additions were 187,000 in Q4 and 1.9 million for the fiscal year.

Looking ahead, Sprint expects fiscal 2017 revenue in the range of $10.7 billion to $11.2 billion, with operating income ranging from $2 billion to $2.5 billion.