What happened
Shares of NII Holdings (NIHD) plunged 16% today after the company reported second-quarter earnings results. The Latin American telecom also announced a convertible note offering.
So what
Revenue in the second quarter was $156 million, which translated into a net loss of $98.8 million, of which $71.1 million, or $0.99 per share, was attributable to NII Holdings. The remainder of the red ink was attributable to noncontrolling interest. When excluding discontinued operations, NII Holdings incurred a net loss of $0.96 per share. The company's Nextel Brazil brand reported net 3G/4G subscriber additions of 65,700 during the quarter, finishing the quarter with 3.1 million total subscribers.
Image source: Getty Image.
Subscriber churn declined 78 basis points from a year ago to 2.75%, and average monthly service revenue per subscriber was $15. The company said that Nextel Brazil completed the shutdown of its iDEN network at the end of the quarter.
Now what
"We continued to execute well on our plan and grew our subscriber base this quarter," Nextel Brazil CEO Roberto Rittes said in a statement. "We reported 65,700 net adds during the quarter, bringing total net adds year to date to 158,600, our highest semi-annual level of net adds in four years. Looking ahead, we expect to generate a similar level of net adds for the second half of the year."
On the earnings call, the company also said it was in "strategic" talks regarding its Nextel Brazil unit, which is to say NII is looking to sell it off. NII expects to start receiving offers in September, according to Reuters. NII is also now looking to offer $75 million in convertible senior notes due 2023 to qualified institutional buyers, the terms of which will be negotiated with the purchasers of the notes. The company says the proceeds will be used "to fund the cash flow needs of Nextel Brazil."
