United States Cellular 1Q Profit Falls In The Absence Of One-Time Gains

United States Cellular Corporation

said that the net income attributed to its shareholders plummeted to $9 million in the first quarter from $160 million. The year-ago quarter was favorably impacted by after tax gain of $145 million from the sale and exchange of businesses and licenses. Similarly, its earnings also plunged to $0.10 a share from $1.89 a share in the previous year quarter. Street estimated the company to deliver earnings of $0.26 a share. United States Cellular's revenue dipped to $958 million from $965 million in the year-ago quarter. This was lower than the analysts' expectations of $975.54 million. The company's President and CEO, Kenneth Meyers, said that "We are off to a good start in 2016 with solid first quarter results. We continue to grow our customer base and increase customer loyalty as evidenced by significantly lower churn and higher customer satisfaction scores. Strong customer engagement is foundational to our success and in order to provide exceptional customer experiences, we must have engaged and dedicated associates. We are proud that for the second year in a row, U.S. Cellular earned a place on the Forbes 'America's Best Employer's' list. He added that "We are pleased to see customer growth through higher sales of data-centric devices, including smartphones and tablets. This growth is being driven by the combination of competitive products and services, our high-quality network and supported by exceptional customer service. We continue to focus on improving our operating processes and efficiency. Strong customer adoption of Equipment Installment Plans drove down loss on equipment and our cost control initiatives generated another quarter of lower expenses." Going forward, U.S. Cellar backed its earlier forecast for the full year. Accordingly, the company expects total operating revenues to be $3.9 - $4.1 billion. The mid-point is higher than the Street expectations of $3.97 billion. The stock shed 0.09% on Thursday.