MetroPCS's Profit More Than Doubles

MetroPCS’s third-quarter earnings more than doubled as the prepaid wireless-service provider posted higher revenue and saw a $53 million gain from a securities settlement.

MetroPCS, which offers flat-rate wireless services without annual contracts, has seen stronger revenue in recent quarters as launching a 4G network and offering smartphones helped to attract new customers. But its bottom-line performance has been mixed over the past year due in part to higher promotional handset costs. The company's costs per gross addition rose 4.1% in the most-recent quarter from a year earlier. Costs per user fell 6%. MetroPCS reported a profit of $192.7 million, or 52 cents a share, up from $69.3 million, or 19 cents, a year earlier. Excluding a gain on a settlement related to securities, current per-share earnings were 38 cents. Revenue rose 4.5% to $1.26 billion. The customer turnover rate, known as churn, was 3.7%, compared with 4.5% a year ago and 3.4% in the prior quarter. The decrease in churn was driven by the company's investments in its network and lower year-to-date subscriber growth.