Regional Operator Alltel Reports Stellar Financials

Alltel, a regional wireless operator that recently announced its acquisition of Western Wireless and is, itself, the subject of takeover rumors, Friday reported a quarterly earnings increase of 16 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago.

In addition to the earnings increase, the wireless operator said it added 511,000 new users in the fiscal year that just ended. It also reported a so-called churn rate of 1.74 percent. Churn rate refers to the rate at which existing customers leave a wireless operator and new ones are signed up. Alltel's churn rate is among the lowest in the wireless sindustry.

Overall, the company reported revenues of about $8.2 billion for the fiscal year, which was a three percent increase form the previous year, and net income of about $1 billion, which was a nine percent increase.

Besides offering wireless service, Alltel also provides broadband access. It reported it now has 243,000 broadband customers, a 59 percent increase over the previous year.

Alltel recently announced it would acquire another regional wireless operator, Western Wireless. In addition, Wall Street rumors have had it as a potential takeover target for Verizon.