U.S. carriers to start carrying iPhones,
is selling them at a brisk pace, it
reported Wednesday.
T-Mobile US, the No. 4 U.S. carrier,
said it has sold half a million iPhones
since it started on April 12. That puts
its sales at roughly the same rate as
Sprint Nextel Corp., the No. 3 carrier,
which has far more customers.
The company said late last year that it
planned to sell the iPhone, which
helped it keep customers in the first
three months of the year. As
previously reported, it saw a small
increase in customers under its own
brand for the first time in four years.
Analysts believe the customers were
holding out for the iPhone.
T-Mobile US's parent Deutsche
Telekom AG, discussed the U.S.
business as it reported a 3.5 percent
increase in net profit in the first
quarter to 564 million euros ($739
million) from 545 million euros in the
same quarter a year ago. Earnings
rose in part because the company saw
smaller deductions for the depreciation
of its U.S. business.
Deutsche Telekom completed a
merger of T-Mobile USA with
MetroPCS Communications Inc. on
April 30, creating the new T-Mobile
US Inc. Deutsche Telekom owns 74
percent of the new company, while
the rest went to MetroPCS
shareholders.
T-Mobile USA, which had been losing
contract customers, switched to a new
"Un-carrier" approach in March and
started selling phones on installment
plans.
Deutsche Telekom AG also said it had
300 million euros less in accounting-
related reductions related to the
merger, which is part of a turnaround
effort. As the No. 4 mobile provider,
T-Mobile USA has struggled against
bigger competitors.
Otherwise, sales and earnings slipped
at Deutsche Telekom.
Revenue fell 4.5 percent to 58.7
billion euros, while adjusted operating
earnings - which exclude financial
items such as depreciation related to
the merger - declined 4.3 percent to
4.29 billion euros. That still exceeded
the analyst predictions for 4.24 billion
euros compiled by financial
information provider FactSet.
At T-Mobile USA, the company made
5.32 billion euros in operating
earnings, down 5.6 percent in euro
terms, as revenue slipped 8 percent to
15.37 billion euros. The company said
service revenue fell as more
customers opted for the new
contracts, reducing operating earnings.
Elsewhere, the company said its
subsidiaries in Europe battled a slow
economy and increased regulation.
The company's expenditure on capital
investments rose some 40 percent to
over 3 billion euros as it spent money
on acquiring radio frequencies in the
Netherlands.
Deutsche Telekom shares rose 3.4
percent to 9.44 euros in morning
trading in Frankfurt.
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