Sprint Nextel lost $505 million, or 18 cents per share, during the fourth quarter, and company executives said the firm may shed assets in order to deal with its financial troubles.
Sprint’s losses were more than double the amount during the same period last year, when it lost $211 million. The company earned $9.3 billion in revenue, down 8 percent from fourth-quarter 2007.
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In a statement Monday, Sprint said it is reviewing its businesses and may cut costs, divest assets and renegotiate its credit terms. The company’s loss was fueled by subscribers leaving its wireless service. Sprint lost 1.07 million of its more valuable monthly subscribers during the quarter, as well as 543,000 prepaid customers.
“While the business will continue to face challenges in the short term, we are making progress in methodically attacking the sources of our performance issues,” Chief Executive Officer Dan Hesse said in a statement Monday.
In a conference call with investors, Hesse would not say whether the firm is considering spinning off the troubled Nextel unit, which analysts have suspected.
The company announced last week that it is divesting its WiMAX business, on which it has spent billions, spinning it into a joint venture with Clearwire and a number of cable and Internet companies. The move could help the company focus on its struggling wireless business, said Analyst Jack Gold of J.Gold Associates LLC.
Sprint has a substantial base in Reston though it recently shifted its headquarters to Overland Park, Kan.
