Sprint's loss narrows as company adds phone subscribers

[BENGALURU] Sprint Corp said on Wednesday that it narrowed its quarterly loss as the No 4 US wireless carrier cut costs as part of its turnaround plan and added phone subscribers who pay a monthly bill.

Shares rose 3.6 per cent to US$9.40 in pre-market trading on Wednesday.

The company, majority owned by Japan's SoftBank Corp, said its net loss narrowed to US$283 million, or 7 cents per share in the fourth quarter ended March 31, from US$554 million, or 14 cents per share, a year earlier.

Net operating revenue rose 5.8 per cent to US$8.54 billion.

Sprint said it added 42,000 phone subscribers who pay a monthly bill in the quarter.

The company is likely to face questions from industry analysts over merger prospects on its post-earnings conference call.

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) barred merger talks among telecommunications companies for over a year as it conducted a US$19.8 billion auction of airwaves from broadcasters for wireless use.

Sprint was not in the auction but could not talk to companies that were. Now that the quiet period mandated by the FCC is over, it can have such discussions.

REUTERS