Sprint Posts Big Jump In Earnings

Sprint Corp. on Wednesday reported a huge jump in profits for the second quarter as the telecommunications company reported a strong revenue increase in its wireless services.

The Overland Park, Kan., company reported net income for the quarter ended June 30 of $233 million, compared with $7 million for the same period a year ago. Earnings based on generally accepted accounting principles were 16 cents a share, compared with break-even a year ago.

Revenues increased by 6.3 percent to $6.87 billion from $6.46 billion. Wireless posted a year-over-year revenue growth of 17 percent, while net operating revenue from local phone services were down 1 percent. Long-distance revenue declined 7 percent.

"Sprint continues to successfully execute its transformation agenda," Gary Forsee, chairman and chief executive of the company, said in a statement. "Led by outstanding performance in wireless, which produced its first $1 billion quarterly adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization), we generated strong cash flows and improved our balance sheet."

Sprint raised its forecast for full-year adjusted earnings per share to 74 cents to 78 cents, compared with its previous estimate of 70 cents to 75 cents. Wireless revenue is expected to increase at a double-digit rate, while local revenue is projected to dip in the low-single-digit rate. Long distance revenue is forecast to fall in the "very high" single-digit rate.