Virgin Mobile USA Reports 2Q Financials

Virgin Mobile USA, a national provider of wireless communications services, reported its financial and operational results for the three and six months ended June 30.

In a release dated August 10, the company stated:

- Net service revenue of $290.0 million compared to $293.8 million in the second quarter of 2008

- Adjusted EBITDA of $43.9 million compared to $32.3 million in the second quarter of 2008, up 36 percent; Adjusted EBITDA excluding transition and restructuring expenses was $45.0 million compared to $33.4 million in the second quarter of 2008, up 35 percent

- Net income of $21.8 million compared to net income of $5.5 million in the second quarter of 2008, up 296 percent

- Earnings per diluted share of $0.23 compared to $0.07 in the second

quarter of 2008, up 229 percent year over year; Adjusted earnings per diluted share of $0.27(1); compared to earnings per diluted share of $0.08 in the second quarter of 2008, up 238 percent

First half 2009 highlights:

- Net service revenue of $608.1 million compared to $600.8 million in the first half of 2008

- Adjusted EBITDA of $93.4 million compared to $61.0 million in the first half of 2008, up 53 percent; Adjusted EBITDA excluding transition and restructuring expenses was $97.6 million compared to $62.1 million in the first half of 2008, up 57 percent

- Net income of $40.9 million compared to net income of $10.3 million in the first half of 2008, up 299 percent

- Earnings per diluted share of $0.42 compared to $0.16 in the first half of 2008, up 163 percent year over year; Adjusted earnings per diluted share of $0.51 compared to $0.17 in the first half of 2008, up 200 percent

- Free cash flow of $29.0 million compared to $29.2 million in the first half of 2008

"Our financial results in the first half of the year have exceeded our expectations," said Dan Schulman, Chief Executive Officer, Virgin Mobile USA. "We grew Adjusted EBITDA excluding transition and restructuring expenses by 57 percent to $98 million in the first half of 2009, producing Free cash flow of more than $29 million. We continue to exceed our financial expectations and remain confident in our guidance for Adjusted EBITDA and Free cash flow for the full year 2009."

"Our said strategy is to focus on growing our highly profitable hybrid customer base. We made strong progress against this goal in the second quarter. Hybrid gross adds grew from 55 percent of total gross adds in Q1 to 63 percent in Q2, resulting in 20 percent year over year growth in total hybrid gross customer additions in the first half of 2009," said Schulman. "The growth of our hybrid customers, who have more than 15x the lifetime value of our average pay-by-the-minute customers, has been supported by the launch of our new service plans throughout the second quarter. Our new $49.99 Unlimited offer has been particularly successful, representing 21 percent of all gross adds in May and June. We expect continued hybrid growth with the plans now fully deployed into retail in Q3.

"Supporting this strategic customer focus is the sale of higher-priced handsets, which are associated with higher data usage, better churn, and significantly higher lifetime value. Our sales of handsets priced at $50 and above leapt to 25 percent of total sales from 15 percent in just one quarter, reflecting the success of our strategy and our commitment to high quality growth."

Virgin Mobile USA, Inc., through its operating company Virgin Mobile USA, L.P., offers millions of customers control, flexibility and choice through Virgin Mobile's Plans Without Annual Contracts, with coverage powered by the Nationwide Sprint PCS Network.

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