T-Mobile profits driven by new customers

NEW YORK — T-Mobile (TMUS) reported first quarter profits that beat analyst expectations, as the self-proclaimed “Un-carrier” continued to poach customers from rivals.

For the first three months of 2016, T-Mobile posted net income of $479 million, or $0.56 per share, compared to a net loss of $63 million in the first quarter of last year. Analysts polled by S&P Global Market Intelligence expected earnings of $0.10 per share, which is what earnings per share would amount to without factoring in an after-tax gain from a spectrum transaction.

Total revenues for the quarter rose 11% to $8.6 billion, also beating consensus estimates.

T-Mobile's stock fell 4.5% to $39.33.

Most of the added customers are coming from AT&T, T-Mobile says. In all, T-Mobile added 2.2 million net customers during the quarter, the 12th consecutive quarter of gaining at least one million wireless subscribers, and the sixth time in the past seven quarters it gained more than 2 million. More than 1 million of the more sought after “post-paid” customers were added during the quarter, the folks that pay bills on a monthly basis.

T-Mobile also did well in the "pre-paid" category, adding a record 807,000 net customers in the quarter, driven by a strong performance for its MetroPCS wireless service.

And churn — subscribers leaving for a rival carrier — was low.

"T-Mobile's blow out first quarter results not only include falling (yes, falling) bad debt but also near record low post-paid churn," says MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett.

One apparent incentive for the overall subscriber growth: During the quarter, T-Mobile expanded its Binge On initiative that lets customers stream video content from the likes of YouTube, Google Play, Netflix, Hulu and others, without tapping into their high speed data bucket. More than 60 video providers now participate in Binge On, up from 24 when the feature launched last November.

T-Mobile said Binge On has indeed helped lure and keep customers. According to Chief Operating Officer Mike Sievert, the vast majority of T-Mobile customers who are not on unlimited data plans, have doubled their video consumption since the Binge On launch.

T-Mobile also said that its 4G LTE network now covers 308 million people, up from 275 million people a year ago.

The company raised its guidance range for so-called branded postpaid net additions to a range of 3.2 million to 3.6 million from 2.4 million to 3.4 million, and increased its adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) target to $9.7 billion to $10.2 billion from $9.1 billion to $9.7 billion.

T-Mobile is also selling up to $1.35 billion in senior notes to Deutsche Telekom AG, which owns a majority of the company, to buy airwaves, according to the Wall Street Journal. CFO Braxton Carter told the newspaper it would consider returning cash to shareholders after the auction ends.

Verizon reported only modest earnings last week. AT&T reports earnings after the market close Tuesday.

Email: ebaig@usatoday.com; Follow USA TODAY Personal Tech Columnist @edbaig on Twitter