Miami— No-contract cellular MVNO TracFone Wireless gained 101,000 net new subscribers in the fourth quarter, down sequentially from the third quarter’s 385,000 and year-ago 616,000.
The company ended the year with 26 million subscribers, up 9.9 percent from the year-ago 23.7 million.
Total fourth-quarter revenues rose 13.8 percent to $1.76 billion compared to the year-ago quarter, and full-year revenues were up 13.4 percent to $6.85 billion.
The company’s fourth-quarter operating profit, or EBIT (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), fell 48.2 percent for the quarter to $55 million but was up 20.6 percent for the year to $613 million.
The company noted that it will pay $40 million under a settlement agreement with the Federal Trade Commission “to settle charges on certain commercial and advertisement practices related to TracFone’s unlimited data plans.”
TracFone is a subsidiary of Mexico-based America Movil, which operates landline and wireless networks throughout Latin America and in Europe.
TracFone Wireless sells prepaid service under the TracFone, Net 10, StraightTalk, SafeLink brands, Simple Mobile, Telcel America, and Page Plus brands. StraightTalk is available exclusively through Walmart.
