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U.S. Cellular Reports First Quarter Results

Data revenues increase 28 percent; postpay churn reduced to 1.4 percent


News provided by

U.S. Cellular

May 10, 2010, 08:04 ET

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CHICAGO, May 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

Note: Comparisons are year over year unless otherwise noted.

1Q 2010 Highlights

  • 24,000 retail net additions, reflecting a gain of 33,000 prepaid customers and a loss of 9,000 postpay customers.
  • Service revenues of $965.2 million decreased 2 percent due to reductions in voice and inbound roaming revenues, offset by higher data revenues.
  • 28 percent increase in data revenues to $201.3 million, representing 21 percent of total service revenues.
  • Retail service ARPU (average revenue per unit) increased to $46.99 from $46.87.
  • Retail postpay churn of 1.4 percent; postpay customers comprised 95 percent of retail customers.
  • 5 percent increase in cell sites in service to 7,310.
  • Repurchased 127,500 common shares for $5.2 million.

As previously announced, U.S. Cellular will hold a teleconference on May 10, 2010, at 9:30 am CDT. Interested parties may listen to the call live by accessing the Conference Calls page of www.teldta.com or uscellular.com.

United States Cellular Corporation (NYSE: USM) reported service revenues of $965.2 million for the first quarter of 2010, a 2 percent decrease from $983.6 million in the comparable period one year ago. Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders and related diluted earnings per share were $48.2 million and $0.55, respectively, for the first quarter of 2010, compared to $84.5 million and $0.97, respectively, in the comparable period one year ago.  

"U.S. Cellular's commitment to providing excellent communications experiences including superior data services delivered results in important areas," said John E. Rooney, U.S. Cellular president and CEO. "Data revenues grew 28 percent due to the continuing rapid adoption of smartphones and premium phones, and the increased data use related to these phones, as well as to overall increases in text and picture messaging. The growth in data revenues partially offset the effect of lower voice revenues and inbound roaming revenues.

"We also achieved a reduction in churn, as customers responded well to our high-quality services and wide range of feature-rich handsets, and to our Battery Swap and Overage Protection programs, demonstrating that we understand our customers' needs and exceed their expectations.

"As we expand 3G availability and add to our portfolio of smartphones, including two new Android phones—one from HTC and an exclusive from Samsung, we expect data revenues to continue to grow and to comprise an ever larger share of service revenues.

"Though postpay customers remain our primary focus, we are executing on growth opportunities in the prepaid segment. The improved prepaid additions this quarter are proof that we provide outstanding communications experiences for all of our customers. To build on this success, we significantly enhanced our prepaid offerings at the end of the quarter by adding new data services such as picture messaging, applications such as ring tones and games, e-mail and web services.

"Also, as part of our major enablement initiatives, we upgraded our campaign management system to facilitate more targeted and effective direct mail campaigns. Though profitability for the quarter was impacted by planned expenditures related to these initiatives, we expect that the initiatives will ultimately reduce operational expenses and support our customer-focused strategy over the long term."

Guidance

Guidance for the year ending Dec. 31, 2010 as of May 10, 2010 is as follows. Guidance is unchanged from Feb. 25, 2010 except that the company has commenced guidance on adjusted OIBDA.  There can be no assurance that final results will not differ materially from this guidance.


Service revenues

$3,975-$4,075 million

Adjusted OIBDA(1)

$850-$950 million

Operating income

$250-$350 million

Depreciation, amortization and accretion(2)

Approx. $600 million

Capital expenditures

Approx. $600 million

(1) Defined as operating income excluding the effects of: depreciation, amortization and accretion (OIBDA); the net gain or loss on asset disposals (if any); and the loss on impairment of intangible assets (if any). This amount may also be commonly referred to by management as operating cash flow. This amount should not be confused with cash flows from operating activities, which is a component of the consolidated statement of cash flows.

(2) Includes estimated losses on disposals of assets but does not include an estimate for loss on impairment of intangible assets since this cannot be predicted.

The foregoing guidance represents the views of management as of May 10, 2010 and should not be assumed to be accurate as of any other date. U.S. Cellular undertakes no legal duty to update such information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Conference call information

U.S. Cellular will hold a conference call on May 10, 2010 at 9:30 a.m. CDT.

  • Access the live call on the Conference Calls page of uscellular.com at http://ir.teldta.com/phoenix.zhtml?p=irol-eventDetails&c=67422&eventID=3055234.
  • Access the call by phone at 866-871-4351(US/Canada) and use conference ID 72053512.

Before the call, certain financial and statistical information to be discussed during the call will be posted to the Conference Calls page of uscellular.com, together with reconciliations to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) of any non-GAAP information to be disclosed. The call will be archived on the Conference Calls page of uscellular.com.

About U.S. Cellular

United States Cellular Corporation, the nation's sixth-largest wireless carrier, provides a comprehensive range of wireless products and services, excellent customer support, and a high-quality network to approximately 6.1 million customers in 26 states. The Chicago-based company employed approximately 8,900 full-time equivalent associates as of March 31, 2010. At the end of the quarter, Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. owned 82 percent of U.S. Cellular.

Visit uscellular.com for comprehensive financial information, including earnings releases, quarterly and annual filings, shareholder information and more.

Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: All information set forth in this news release, except historical and factual information, represents forward-looking statements. This includes all statements about the company's plans, beliefs, estimates, and expectations. These statements are based on current estimates, projections, and assumptions, which involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that may affect these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: The ability of the company to successfully manage and grow its markets; the economy; competition; the state and federal telecommunications regulatory environment; the value of assets and investments; adverse changes in the ratings afforded our debt securities by accredited ratings organizations; industry consolidation; advances in telecommunications technology; uncertainty of access to the capital markets; pending and future litigation; changes in income tax rates, laws, regulations or rulings; acquisitions/divestitures of properties and/or licenses; changes in customer growth rates, average monthly revenue per unit, churn rates, roaming revenue and terms, the availability of handset devices, or the mix of products and services offered by the company; and the ability to obtain or maintain roaming arrangements with other carriers. Investors are encouraged to consider these and other risks and uncertainties that are discussed in the Form 8-K used by U.S. Cellular to furnish this press release to the SEC, which are incorporated by reference herein.


UNITED STATES CELLULAR CORPORATION

SUMMARY OPERATING DATA























Quarter Ended


3/31/2010


12/31/2009


9/30/2009


6/30/2009


3/31/2009



Total population



















Consolidated markets (1)



90,468,000



89,712,000



85,118,000



83,726,000



83,726,000




Consolidated operating markets (1)



46,546,000



46,306,000



46,306,000



46,306,000



46,306,000



Market penetration at end of period



















Consolidated markets (2)



6.8%



6.8%



7.2%



7.4%



7.5%




Consolidated operating markets (2)



13.2%



13.3%



13.2%



13.3%



13.5%



All customers



















Total at end of period



6,147,000



6,141,000



6,131,000



6,155,000



6,243,000




Gross additions



358,000



399,000



386,000



317,000



404,000




Net additions (losses)



6,000



10,000



(24,000)



(88,000)



47,000



Retail customers



















Total at end of period



5,768,000



5,744,000



5,705,000



5,711,000



5,770,000




Gross additions



305,000



354,000



351,000



286,000



366,000




Net retail additions (losses) (3)



24,000



39,000



(6,000)



(59,000)



63,000





Net postpay additions (losses)



(9,000)



26,000



8,000



(32,000)



60,000





Net prepaid additions (losses)



33,000



13,000



(14,000)



(27,000)



3,000



Service revenues components (000s)



















Voice and other retail service


$

663,939


$

676,554


$

690,106


$

708,609


$

718,885




Data service



201,280



189,759



174,286



161,955



156,954




Total retail service


$

865,219


$

866,313


$

864,392


$

870,564


$

875,839




Inbound roaming



51,942



61,728



68,767



62,223



60,057




Other



48,027



56,814



50,289



41,323



47,719



Total service revenues (000s) (4)


$

965,188


$

984,855


$

983,448


$

974,110


$

983,615
























Divided by average customers (000s)



6,137



6,139



6,138



6,199



6,229




Divided by three months in each quarter



3



3



3



3



3























Average monthly revenue per unit (5)


$

52.42


$

53.48


$

53.41


$

52.38


$

52.64




Voice and other retail service (5)


$

36.06


$

36.75


$

37.48


$

38.11


$

38.47




Data service (5)


$

10.93


$

10.30


$

9.46


$

8.71


$

8.40




Total retail service (5)


$

46.99


$

47.05


$

46.94


$

46.82


$

46.87























Inbound roaming (5)


$

2.82


$

3.35


$

3.73


$

3.35


$

3.21




Other (5)


$

2.61


$

3.08


$

2.74


$

2.21


$

2.56



Postpay churn rate (6)



1.4%



1.6%



1.7%



1.7%



1.5%



Capital expenditures (000s)


$

121,500


$

189,000


$

128,900


$

91,200


$

137,700



Cell sites in service



7,310



7,279



7,161



7,043



6,942























(1) Used only to calculate market penetration of consolidated markets and consolidated operating markets, respectively, which is calculated by dividing customers by the total market population (without duplication of population in overlapping markets).

(2) Calculated by dividing the number of wireless customers at the end of the period by the total population of consolidated markets and consolidated operating markets, respectively, as estimated by Claritas.

(3) Calculated by adding net postpay additions (losses) and net prepaid additions (losses).

(4) U.S. Cellular revised previously reported Service revenues for all quarterly periods in 2009 to reflect certain corrections. See "Revision of Prior Period Amounts" section for additional details. Previously reported Service revenues were $986.3 million, $984.9 million, $974.8 million and $981.9 million for the three month periods ended December 31, September 30, June 30 and March 31, 2009, respectively.

(5) Calculated by dividing the components of service revenues by the average customers and number of months in the quarter.

(6) Calculated by dividing the total postpay customer disconnects during the quarter by the average postpay customer base for the quarter.

United States Cellular Corporation

Consolidated Statement of Operations Highlights

Three Months Ended March 31,

(Unaudited, dollars and shares in thousands, except per share amounts)































Increase (Decrease)






2010 



2009 (1)



Amount


Percent


Operating revenues
















Service

$

965,188



$

983,615



$

(18,427)



(2%)



Equipment sales


58,849




70,890




(12,041)



(17%)




Total operating revenues


1,024,037




1,054,505




(30,468)



(3%)


Operating expenses
















System operations (excluding Depreciation,

















amortization and accretion reported below)


207,077




199,883




7,194



4%



Cost of equipment sold


161,105




185,701




(24,596)



(13%)



Selling, general and administrative


428,661




408,159




20,502



5%



Depreciation, amortization and accretion


143,233




137,878




5,355



4%



Loss on asset disposals, net


5,176




3,945




1,231



31%




Total operating expenses


945,252




935,566




9,686



1%




















Operating income


78,785




118,939




(40,154)



(34%)




















Investment and other income (expense)
















Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities


24,694




25,327




(633)



(2%)



Interest and dividend income


1,021




477




544



>100%



Interest expense


(16,286)




(19,287)




3,001



16%



Other, net


(65)




280




(345)



>(100)%




Total investment and other income


















(expense)


9,364




6,797




2,567



38%




















Income before income taxes


88,149




125,736




(37,587)



(30%)



Income tax expense


34,198




35,226




(1,028)



(3%)




















Net income


53,951




90,510




(36,559)



(40%)



Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling

















interests, net of tax


(5,719)




(6,008)




289



5%


Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders

$

48,232



$

84,502



$

(36,270)



(43%)


















Basic weighted average shares outstanding


86,576




87,196




(620)



(1%)


Basic earnings per share attributable to
















U.S. Cellular shareholders

$

0.56



$

0.97



$

(0.41)



(42%)




















Diluted weighted average shares outstanding


86,978




87,446




(468)



(1%)


Diluted earnings per share attributable to
















U.S. Cellular shareholders

$

0.55



$

0.97



$

(0.42)



(43%)


(1) Amounts have been revised. See "Revision of Prior Period Amounts" section for additional details.

United States Cellular Corporation

Consolidated Balance Sheet Highlights

(Unaudited, dollars in thousands)









ASSETS











March 31,



December 31,



2010 



2009 (1)

Current assets








Cash and cash equivalents

$

289,658



$

294,411


Short-term investments


25,534




330


Accounts receivable from customers and other


404,553




425,057


Inventory


153,278




152,556


Prepaid income taxes


—




717


Prepaid expenses


72,829




63,463


Net deferred income tax asset


21,570




21,570


Other current assets


55,250




51,013




1,022,672




1,009,117









Investments








Licenses


1,438,800




1,435,000


Goodwill


494,737




494,737


Customer lists


2,892




4,083


Investments in unconsolidated entities


178,903




161,481


Notes and interest receivable – long-term


4,179




4,214




2,119,511




2,099,515









Property, plant and equipment








In service and under construction


5,975,704




5,884,307


Less: accumulated depreciation


3,397,244




3,282,969




2,578,460




2,601,338









Other assets and deferred charges


38,393




38,776









Total assets

$

5,759,036



$

5,748,746

(1) Amounts have been revised. See "Revision of Prior Period Amounts" section for additional details.

United States Cellular Corporation

Consolidated Balance Sheet Highlights

(Unaudited, dollars in thousands)










LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY













March 31,



December 31,




2010 



2009 (1)

Current liabilities








Current portion of long-term debt

$

84



$

76


Accounts payable









Affiliated


8,889




14,732



Trade


256,913




296,288


Customer deposits and deferred revenues


140,651




140,248


Accrued taxes


83,876




52,026


Accrued compensation


38,220




62,242


Other current liabilities


90,602




92,884





619,235




658,496










Deferred liabilities and credits








Net deferred income tax liability


504,822




513,151


Other deferred liabilities and credits


268,795




262,412





773,617




775,563










Long-term debt


867,662




867,522










Commitments and contingencies
















Noncontrolling interests with mandatory redemption features


752




727










Equity







U.S. Cellular shareholders' equity








Common Shares, par value $1 per share


55,068




55,068


Series A Common Shares, par value $1 per share


33,006




33,006


Additional paid-in capital


1,360,712




1,356,322


Treasury shares


(72,194)




(69,616)


Retained earnings


2,066,066




2,019,957



Total U.S. Cellular shareholders' equity


3,442,658




3,394,737










Noncontrolling interests


55,112




51,701











Total equity


3,497,770




3,446,438










Total liabilities and equity

$

5,759,036



$

5,748,746

(1) Amounts have been revised. See "Revision of Prior Period Amounts" section for additional details.

United States Cellular Corporation

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

Three Months Ended March 31,

(Unaudited, dollars in thousands)

























2010 



2009 (1)

Cash flows from operating activities








Net income

$

53,951



$

90,510


Add (deduct) adjustments to reconcile net income to net









cash flows from operating activities










Depreciation, amortization and accretion


143,233




137,878




Bad debts expense


19,193




18,704




Stock-based compensation expense


3,830




2,964




Deferred income taxes, net


(2,419)




2,342




Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities


(24,694)




(25,327)




Distributions from unconsolidated entities


7,238




5,908




Loss on asset disposals, net


5,176




3,945




Other operating activities


274




440


Changes in assets and liabilities from operations










Accounts receivable


1,313




(18,132)




Inventory


(722)




7,204




Accounts payable - trade


(39,375)




(30,754)




Accounts payable - affiliate


(5,843)




(2,358)




Customer deposits and deferred revenues


403




(1,579)




Accrued taxes


29,860




42,144




Accrued interest


9,221




9,337




Other assets and liabilities


(48,387)




(57,664)






152,252




185,562

Cash flows from investing activities








Additions to property, plant and equipment


(121,514)




(137,741)


Cash paid for acquisitions and licenses


(3,800)




(12,127)


Cash paid for investments


(25,000)




(278)


Other investing activities


356




518






(149,958)




(149,628)

Cash flows from financing activities








Common shares reissued for benefit plans, net of tax payments


486




356


Common shares repurchased


(5,186)




(13,291)


Distributions to noncontrolling interests


(2,284)




(2,101)


Other financing activities


(63)




(97)






(7,047)




(15,133)











Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents


(4,753)




20,801











Cash and cash equivalents








Beginning of period


294,411




170,996


End of period

$

289,658



$

191,797











(1) Amounts have been revised. See "Revision of Prior Period Amounts" section for additional details.


United States Cellular Corporation

Financial Measures and Reconciliations



Three Months Ended March 31,



(Unaudited, dollars in thousands)















2010 



2009 (5)
















Service revenues


$

965,188 


$

983,615 
















Operating income



78,785 



118,939 




Add:











Depreciation, amortization and accretion


$

143,233 


$

137,878 





Loss on asset disposals



5,176 



3,945 






Adjusted OIBDA (1)(4)


$

227,194 


$

260,762 


















Adjusted OIBDA margin (2)



23.5%



26.5%



























2010 



2009 
















Cash flows from operating activities


$

152,252 


$

185,562 




Deduct:











Capital expenditures



121,514 



137,741 






Free cash flow (3)


$

30,738 


$

47,821 














(1) Adjusted OIBDA is defined as operating income excluding the effects of: depreciation, amortization, and accretion (OIBDA); the net gain or loss on asset disposals (if any); and the loss on impairment of intangible assets (if any).  This amount may also be commonly referred to by management as operating cash flow.  This amount should not be confused with cash flows from operating activities, which is a component of the consolidated statement of cash flows.

(2) Defined as Adjusted OIBDA divided by service revenues. Equipment revenues are excluded from the denominator of the calculation since equipment is generally sold at a net negative margin, and the equipment subsidy is effectively a cost for purposes of assessing business results.  U.S. Cellular believes that this calculation method is consistent with the method used by certain investors to assess U.S. Cellular's business results.  Adjusted OIBDA margin may also be commonly referred to by management as operating cash flow margin.

(3) Defined as cash flows from operating activities minus capital expenditures. Free cash flow is a Non-GAAP financial measure.  U.S. Cellular believes that free cash flow as reported by U.S. Cellular is useful to investors and other users of its financial information in evaluating the amount of cash generated by business operations, after consideration of capital expenditures.

(4) Excludes the net gain or loss on asset disposals and loss on impairment of intangible assets, if any, in order to show operating results on a more comparable basis from period to period.  U.S. Cellular does not intend to imply that any of such amounts that are excluded are non-recurring, infrequent or unusual.  Accordingly, you should be aware that U.S. Cellular may incur such amounts in the future.

(5) Previously reported GAAP amounts have been revised. See "Revision of Prior Period Amounts" section for additional details.    

Revision of Prior Period Amounts

In preparing its financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2010, U.S. Cellular discovered certain errors related to accounting for service revenues and sales tax liabilities. These errors resulted in the overstatement of service revenues and understatement of sales tax liabilities for 2009, 2008 and 2007. In accordance with SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin Nos. 99 and 108 ("SAB 99 and SAB 108"), U.S. Cellular evaluated these errors and determined that they were immaterial to each of the reporting periods affected and, therefore, amendment of previously filed reports was not required. However, if the adjustments to correct the cumulative errors had been recorded in the first quarter 2010, U.S. Cellular believes the impact would have been significant to the first quarter and would impact comparisons to prior periods. As permitted by SAB 108, U.S. Cellular revised in the current filing and plans to revise in the next filings of its quarterly and annual consolidated financial statements previously reported annual and quarterly results for 2009, 2008 and 2007 for these immaterial amounts. In addition to recording these adjustments, U.S. Cellular recorded and plans to record other adjustments to prior-year amounts to correct other immaterial items, which include adjustments related to rent expense as disclosed in U.S. Cellular's 2009 Form 10-K.

The Consolidated Balance Sheet at December 31, 2009 was revised to reflect the cumulative effect of these errors which resulted in a decrease to Retained earnings of $9.6 million.  Also, in accordance with SAB 108, the Consolidated Statement of Operations and the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows have been revised as follows:  

















Consolidated Statement of Operations -- Three Months Ended March 31, 2009























As previously











(Dollars in thousands)


reported




Adjustment




Revised
















Service revenues

$

981,874



$

1,741



$

983,615



Total operating revenues


1,052,764




1,741




1,054,505



System operations expenses (excluding Depreciation,















amortization and accretion)


200,003




(120)




199,883



Selling, general and administrative expenses


412,448




(4,289)




408,159



Depreciation, amortization and accretion


137,651




227




137,878



Loss on asset disposals, net


2,191




1,754




3,945



Total operating expenses


937,994




(2,428)




935,566



Operating income


114,770




4,169




118,939



Interest expense


(19,022)




(265)




(19,287)



Total investment and other income (expense)


7,062




(265)




6,797



Income before income taxes


121,832




3,904




125,736



Income tax expense


31,232




3,994




35,226



Net income


90,600




(90)




90,510



Net income attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders


84,592




(90)




84,502



Basic earnings attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders


0.97




—




0.97



Diluted earnings attributable to U.S. Cellular shareholders


0.97




—




0.97

















Consolidated Balance Sheet -- December 31, 2009






















As previously











(Dollars in thousands)


reported




Adjustment




Revised


















Accounts receivable from customers and other

$

421,528



$

3,529



$

425,057



Total current assets


1,005,588




3,529




1,009,117



Total assets


5,745,217




3,529




5,748,746



Customer deposits and deferred revenues


143,760




(3,512)




140,248



Accrued taxes


34,583




17,443




52,026



Total current liabilities


644,565




13,931




658,496



Net deferred income tax liability


513,994




(843)




513,151



Total deferred liabilities and credits


776,406




(843)




775,563



Retained earnings


2,029,516




(9,559)




2,019,957



Total U.S. Cellular shareholders' equity


3,404,296




(9,559)




3,394,737



Total equity


3,455,997




(9,559)




3,446,438



Total liabilities and equity


5,745,217




3,529




5,748,746

















Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows -- Three Months Ended March 31, 2009























As previously











(Dollars in thousands)


reported




Adjustment




Revised
















Net income

$

90,600



$

(90)



$

90,510



Depreciation, amortization and accretion


137,651




227




137,878



Deferred income taxes, net


1,673




669




2,342



Loss on asset disposals, net


2,191




1,754




3,945



Change in accounts receivable


(13,468)




(4,664)




(18,132)



Change in customer deposits and deferred revenues


(1,392)




(187)




(1,579)



Change in accrued taxes


39,591




2,553




42,144



Change in other assets and liabilities


(57,402)




(262)




(57,664)



Cash flows from operating activities


185,562




—




185,562



SOURCE U.S. Cellular

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