Leap Wireless 3Q loss widens to $48.8 million

SAN DIEGO - Leap Wireless International Inc. reported Wednesday that its loss widened in the last quarter despite an increase in revenue and customers, as it was weighed down with expanding its wireless service.

The company said it lost $48.8 million, or 72 cents per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with $43.3 million, or 64 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected the company to lose 57 cents per share.

Revenue rose 21 percent to $496.7 million from $409.7 million a year earlier. Analysts expected $509.4 million.

Leap said it added 156,000 net customers in the quarter, ending the period with nearly 3.5 million customers, up from 2.7 million a year ago. Most of the growth was in voice services, but 40,000 were for mobile broadband services, the company said.

Leap said customer churn declined to 4.2 percent from 5.2 percent a year ago.

The quarterly loss, Leap said, included 73 cents per share of initial operating losses due to new initiatives. The company said it took $49.4 million of initial operating losses for new market launch activity and expansion of its mobile broadband service.

The company said it also absorbed $5 million in expenses related to settling lawsuits, Hurricane Ike and business-development activities. The company has been expanding its Cricket wireless Internet service.

Leap shares fell $1.60, or 5.3 percent, to $28.75, in regular trading before the results were released. In late trading, they fell 25 cents.

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