Demand for wireless boosts Sprint's earnings

Sprint reported a surge in second quarter earnings, buoyed by solid demand for the US telecommunications company's wireless services.

Net income in the second quarter, which ended on 30 June, surged to $233m (£126m), compared to $7m in the same period a year earlier, Sprint said.

Second quarter net operating revenue rose 6.3% to $6.9bn from $6.5bn the year before.

Net operating revenue in the wireless unit came in at $3.6bn, up 17% from $3.1bn a year ago. At the end of June, the unit had 22.2 million subscribers, up 14% year-on-year.

The company added 897,000 subscribers in the second quarter. Average revenue per user rose slightly to $62 per month.

However, Sprint saw revenue dip for both its local and long-distance telephone and internet services. Net operating revenue for local service dropped 1% to $1.14bn in the second quarter from $1.17bn a year earlier. Net operating revenue for long-distance service fell 6.6% to $1.87bn from $2bn.

The operator raised its 2004 earnings guidance, saying that revenue from wireless services would offset weaker sales of its local and long-distance services. The operator said it expects net operating revenue for the full year to increase between 3% and 4%.

John Blau writes for IDG News Service