The Cell Phone Junkie

Clearwire Tuesday reported Q4 2011 earnings, announcing that revenue would double, but customer additions were just half of the previous quarter.  Clearwire reported $362 million in revenue for the period, up from $180.7 million from a year ago.  And while 900,000 net wholesale additions were reported, this is down over half a million from in the period during 2010, and less than half the 1.86 million they had in the third quarter.

The company ended 2011 with 10.4 million customers, 140% year-over-year growth.  9.1 million of these are wholesale customers, mostly through Sprint, while 1.3 million are retail Clearwire subscribers.

Press Release:

BELLEVUE, Wash. – January 24, 2012 – Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR), a leading provider of 4G wireless broadband services in the U.S., today reported selected preliminary financial and operating results for fourth quarter 2011.

• Record quarterly revenues of approximately $362 million are estimated for fourth quarter 2011, representing a more than doubling of revenues from the prior year’s fourth quarter. Retail revenues are estimated to be approximately $198 million and wholesale revenues are estimated to be approximately $164 million for the period, representing 1% and 20% sequential growth, respectively, over third quarter 2011 retail and wholesale revenues.

• Fourth quarter 2011 net wholesale subscriber additions are expected to total approximately 900,000, resulting in approximately 9.1 million ending wholesale subscribers, or 11% growth over third quarter 2011 ending wholesale subscribers. Combined with approximately 1.3 million retail subscribers at the end of the year, the company expects total subscribers at December 31, 2011 to be approximately 10.4 million, representing approximately 140% year over year growth. These results reflect 2.9% wholesale churn and 3.9% retail churn in fourth quarter 2011.

• Fourth quarter 2011 aggregate usage by wholesale customers increased approximately 22% compared to third quarter 2011, driven primarily by growth in aggregate smartphone usage, which increased approximately 30% over the same period. Total 4G network usage by wholesale and retail customers increased 165% during 2011.

• As a result of the growth of its subscriber base and increased network traffic, in conjunction with reductions in cash operating expenses, the Company estimates that fourth quarter 2011 Adjusted EBITDA is positive and improved more than 140% sequentially as compared to the Adjusted EBITDA loss reported in third quarter 2011.

• The Company estimates that cash and cash equivalents and investments at December 31, 2011 were approximately $1.11 billion compared to $711 million at September 30, 2011. Excluding net proceeds from the issuance of additional shares of $716 million and payment of $237 million interest on debt in December, the Company estimates that cash utilized during fourth quarter 2011 was approximately $82 million.

The above amounts are subject to the finalization of the company’s fourth quarter and annual 2011 results.  The company plans to release full fourth quarter and annual 2011 financial results in the coming weeks.

Source:  Fierce Wireless