2003 Was Good Year For Nextel

Nextel on Thursday reported net income for 2003 of almost $1.5 billion on revenue of $10.8 billion and issued bullish guidance for 2004.

The revenue figures for the year represented a 24% increase compared with 2002, the wireless company said in a statement. In addition, Nextel had free cash flow for the year of $1.3 billion, compared with $122 million for the previous year.

The company claimed it added 2.3 million subscribers, an increase of 21% over 2002. It had almost 13 million subscribers by the end of the year, the company said. Customer churn, or the rate at which customers leave one operator and migrate to another, was 1.6% for the year, significantly lower than most of its competition.

The company also reported significant debt restructuring, retiring $7.8 billion in debt and issuing $4.7 billion in new debt at lower interest rates.

Nextel said it expected earnings to be at least $2 a share for 2004, compared with $1.41 in 2003, and it said it predicted it would 1.8 million new customers. It also predicted free cash flow of $1.6 billion for 2004.