NII Holdings Inc. (NIHD: Quote) the company that provides wireless communication services under the Nextel brand name, Thursday posted a loss for the fourth quarter particularly on the back of increased impairment and restructuring charges.
For the period, the company posted net loss of $592.9 million versus a profit last year of 3.2 million. On a per share basis, loss stood at $3.45 compared with a profit of $0.02 a year ago.
Ten analysts on average polled by Thomson Reuters estimated loss per share of $1.21 for the quarter. Analyst estimates typically exclude one-time items.
Operating loss for the fourth quarter reflects one-time charges associated with NII Holdings's actions to improve its subscriber base in Brazil and a $299 million non-cash asset impairment charge to write down the value of its assets in Chile, said the company in a statement. Impairment and restructuring charges for the three months totaled $306.5 million versus nil last year.
Operating revenue for the period slipped to $1.465 billion from $1.599 billion for the corresponding period last year, mainly dragged down by service and other revenues. Analysts were hoping for higher revenues of $1.50 billion.
For the three months, the company said it added about 2,000 net subscribers to its network, which reflects the impact of its decision to accelerate the deactivation of unprofitable customers in Brazil, which resulted in a 292,000 net subscriber loss in Brazil for the quarter.
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by RTT Staff Writer
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