Clearwire Loss Shrinks in Q4 on Higher Revenues

US based WiMAX network operator, Clearwire has reported that its fourth-quarter revenue increased by 34 percent to $79.9 million, versus pro forma revenue of $59.7 million for the same quarter of 2008. The growth in revenue was driven primarily by Clearwire's larger subscriber base, including the addition of ten new markets year-over-year.

Clearwire reported a net loss of $98.7 million compared with a year-earlier loss of $118 million a year ago.

Total subscribers increased to approximately 688,000 at the end of the fourth quarter of 2009, up from approximately 475,000 on a pro forma basis at the end of the fourth quarter 2008.

Retail ARPU for the fourth quarter of 2009 was $39.86, an increase of $0.16 over the previous year. Retail ARPU increased due to an increase in bundled sales and mobile offerings, offset by an increase in promotional activity due to the large number of new customers.

Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2009 reflected a loss of $295.7 million, versus a similar pro forma Adjusted EBITDA loss of $151.0 million for the same period in 2008.

Higher network expansion activities led to an increase in Capital Expenditures to $767 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 from pro forma CAPEX of $83 million in the same period in 2008. Approximately $200 million of the 2010 network build costs were accelerated and pulled into 2009 CAPEX spend. Cash spent on operations and CAPEX was $823 million for the fourth quarter of 2009, and $1.97 billion for the twelve months ended December 31, 2009. This was offset by a net increase of approximately $2.7 billion in net capital raising in Q4'09. Clearwire ended December 2009 with cash and short-term investments of approximately $3.8 billion invested primarily in U.S. Treasury securities.

"Over the past year, Clearwire established its leadership in 4G mobile broadband services by building the largest 4G network in North America, raising additional financing to fuel our growth, supporting the 4G wholesale service launches for three of the most prominent communications companies in the U.S., and delivering solid financial results in a challenging economic environment," said Bill Morrow, CEO of Clearwire.