By Debbie Cai
NII Holdings Inc. (NIHD) swung to a first-quarter loss as the
Latin American wireless operator posted higher expenses related to
the deployment of 3G networks, as well as weaker revenue.
However, shares rose 9.6% to $9.13 in recent premarket trading
as Chief Executive Steve Shindler said the company is tracking well
on its goals for the year. The stock is down 36% over the past 12
months.
Mr. Shindler said NII Holdings continues to focus on completing
its next-generation networks in Mexico and Brazil, improving its
operational performance and realigning business operations.
The company, which provides wireless service under the Nextel
brand in several Latin American countries, has said it plans this
year to continue to invest in the deployment of its 3G networks,
with a particular focus on building those networks and improving
results in its core markets of Mexico and Brazil.
Last month, the company said it agreed to sell its Peruvian
operations to Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones SA (ENTEL.SN)
for about $400 million as it narrows its focus to Mexico and
Brazil. The deal, which is being structured as a purchase of the
shares of NII's subsidiary Nextel del Peru SA, is expected to close
in the second half of this year.
The company added 152,000 net subscribers during the quarter,
bringing its subscriber base to more than 11.5 million, up 5% from
a year earlier.
Churn, a measure of subscriber cancellations, came in at 2.59%
for the quarter from 2.07% a year ago.
NII reported a loss of $207.5 million, or $1.21 a share, versus
a year-earlier profit of $13.6 million, or eight cents a share. The
latest period included $230 million in impairment and restructuring
charges.
Revenue fell 13% to $1.41 billion.
The company attributed the results to incremental expenses
related to the company's deployment of its planned next generation
networks, lower average revenue per subscriber on a local currency
basis and weaker average foreign currency exchange rates.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were looking for a per-share
loss of 65 cents on revenue of $1.46 billion.
Operating expenses climbed 4.6% to $1.52 billion.
Write to Debbie Cai at debbie.cai@dowjones.com
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