EX-99 2 earnings8k.txt EARNINGS PRESS RELEASE DATED MAY 12, 2004 [GRAPHIC OMITTED - LOGO] Contact: Tom Dougherty President & Chief Executive Officer 404-525-7272 AIRGATE PCS, INC. ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER FISCAL 2004 RESULTS ATLANTA (May 12, 2004) - AirGate PCS, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCSA), a PCS Affiliate of Sprint, today announced financial and operating results for its second fiscal quarter and six months ended March 31, 2004. Highlights of the quarter include the following: o Gross additions were 41,741, a 17% increase from 35,601 in the first fiscal quarter of 2004. o Churn decreased to 2.92% in the second fiscal quarter of 2004 from 3.30% in the second fiscal quarter of 2003 and 3.10% in the first fiscal quarter of 2004. o Net additions were 7,909 compared to 438 in the first fiscal quarter of 2004. o Net loss for the period was ($9.9) million compared to ($21.0) million in the second fiscal quarter of 2003, which included a loss from discontinued operations of ($14.3) million. o EBITDA, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, was $13.2 million compared to $15.1 million in the second fiscal quarter of 2003. o In February 2004, the Company completed its recapitalization and re-listed its Common Stock on the Nasdaq National Market. Financial Overview and Key Operating Metrics Financial and operating metrics, which include non-GAAP financial measures, for the quarters and the six months ended March 31, 2004 and 2003, include the following:
For the Quarters Ended March 31, -------------------------------------------------------- % 2004 2003 Change Change -------------------------------------------------------- Selected Financial Data (dollars in thousands) Revenue $78,036 $76,749 $1,287 1.7% Operating expense 76,766 73,275 3,491 4.8% Loss from continuing operations (9,876) (6,698) (3,178) N/M Discontinued operations 0 (14,324) 14,324 N/M Net income (loss) (9,876) (21,022) 11,146 N/M Capital expenditures 5,762 1,028 4,734 460.5% Cash and cash equivalents, end of period 48,593 20,905 27,688 132.4% Key Operating Metrics and Non-GAAP Financial Measures Total subscribers, end of period 367,807 358,564 9,243 2.6% Subscriber gross additions 41,741 43,003 (1,262) (2.9%) Subscriber net additions 7,909 5,755 2,154 37.4% Churn 2.92% 3.30% (0.38%) N/M ARPU $56.48 $56.38 $0.10 0.2% CPGA $409 $302 $107 35.4% EBITDA (in thousands) $13,162 $15,099 ($1,937) (12.8%)
-MORE- AirGate PCS Announces Second Quarter Fiscal 2004 Results Page 2 May 12, 2004 Notable financial effects during the second fiscal quarter of 2004 include: o A reduction of bad debt expense related to a $1.2 million settlement from Sprint resulting from a change in the bad debt profile for certain subscribers. o An increase of general and administrative expenses of $0.8 million related to costs associated with the recapitalization completed February 13, 2004. o Interest expense includes the accrual of interest related to the 9 3/8% notes beginning January 1, 2004 and the 13.5% notes tendered as part of the recapitalization from January 1, 2004 through February 12, 2004. The Company anticipates interest expense for the third fiscal quarter of 2004 will not exceed $8 million. Notable financial effects during the second fiscal quarter of 2003 include: o A reduction of cost of service and roaming of $3.6 million related to a special settlement with Sprint. o An increase of general and administrative expenses of $1.2 million related to consulting fees incurred as part of an operational restructuring. o Net income was negatively affected by losses of ($14.3) million from the discontinued operations of iPCS.
For the Six Months Ended March 31, --------------------------------------------------------- % 2004 2003 Change Change --------------------------------------------------------- Selected Financial Data (dollars in thousands) Revenue $159,539 $158,614 $925 0.6% Operating expense 158,220 164,373 (6,153) (3.7%) Loss from continuing operations (20,986) (26,125) 5,139 N/M Discontinued operations 184,115 (42,571) 226,686 N/M Net income (loss) 163,129 (68,696) 231,825 N/M Capital expenditures 7,361 6,654 707 10.6% Cash and cash equivalents, end of period 48,593 20,905 27,688 132.4% Key Operating Metrics and Non-GAAP Financial Measures Total subscribers, end of period 367,807 358,564 9,243 2.6% Subscriber gross additions 77,342 98,624 (21,282) (21.6%) Subscriber net additions 8,347 19,425 (11,078) (57.0%) Churn 2.99% 3.53% (0.54%) N/M ARPU $56.76 $57.38 ($0.62) (1.1%) CPGA $463 $354 $109 30.8% EBITDA (in thousands) $24,978 $17,485 $7,493 42.9%
Management Commentary "Now that our recapitalization is complete, we have renewed our efforts to develop and retain a more stable and profitable customer base," said Thomas M. Dougherty, president and chief executive officer of AirGate PCS. "Not only did we increase our gross additions over the prior quarter, but we also reduced our churn rate by approximately 20 basis points, largely due to a decrease in involuntary churn. We believe the decisions we made over the last two years to improve the quality of the subscriber base are showing positive results for AirGate." -MORE- AirGate PCS Announces Second Quarter Fiscal 2004 Results Page 3 May 12, 2004 "We can now focus our full attention on further growing the core business as well as identifying future growth strategies for the Company," Dougherty continued. "We are grateful for the support we received during the recapitalization and we are now actively engaged in evaluating our strategic alternatives." Conference Call AirGate PCS will hold a conference call to discuss this press release Thursday, May 13, 2004, at 9:00 a.m. ET. A live broadcast of the conference call will be available on-line at www.airgatepcsa.com or www.fulldisclosure.com. To listen to the live call, please go to the Web site at least 15 minutes early to register, download, and install any necessary audio software. For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be available shortly after the call through the close of business on June 13, 2004 About AirGate PCS AirGate PCS, Inc. is the PCS Affiliate of Sprint with the right to sell wireless mobility communications network products and services under the Sprint brand in territories within three states located in the Southeastern United States. The territories include over 7.4 million residents in key markets such as Charleston, Columbia, and Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina; Augusta and Savannah, Georgia; and Asheville, Wilmington and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the wireless industry, the recapitalization plan, our beliefs and our management's assumptions. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "targets," "goals," "projects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates" and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include: our dependence on the success of Sprint's wireless business; the competitiveness and impact of Sprint wireless pricing plans and PCS products and services; intense competition in the wireless market and the unsettled nature of the wireless market; the potential to experience a continued high rate of subscriber turnover; the ability of Sprint to provide back office billing, subscriber care and other services and the quality and costs of such services or, alternatively, our ability to outsource all or a portion of these services at acceptable costs and the quality of such services; subscriber credit quality; the ability to successfully leverage 3G products and services; inaccuracies in financial information provided by Sprint; new charges and fees, or increased charges and fees, imposed by Sprint; the impact and outcome of disputes with Sprint; our ability to predict future customer growth, as well as other key operating metrics; the impact of spending cuts on network quality, customer retention and customer growth; rates of penetration in the wireless industry; our significant level of indebtedness and debt covenant requirements; the impact and outcome of legal proceedings between other PCS Affiliates of Sprint and Sprint; the potential need for additional sources of capital and liquidity; risks related to our ability to compete with larger, more established businesses; anticipated future losses; rapid technological and market change; the impact of wireless local number portability; an adequate supply of subscriber equipment; the current economic slowdown; and the volatility of AirGate PCS' stock price. For a detailed discussion of these and other cautionary statements and factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in this news release, please refer to AirGate PCS' filings with the SEC, especially in the "risk factors" section of AirGate PCS' Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003, and in subsequent filings with the SEC. Except as otherwise required under federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the SEC, we do not have any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise. -MORE- AirGate PCS Announces Second Quarter Fiscal 2004 Results Page 4 May 12, 2004 Financial Measures and Key Operating Metrics In this press release, the Company uses several key operating metrics and non-GAAP financial measures. In Schedule I, the Company defines each of these metrics and provides a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. These financial measures and operating metrics are a supplement to GAAP financial information and should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income (loss), cash flow or operating income (loss) as determined in accordance with GAAP. SCHEDULE I Financial Measures and Key Operating Metrics The Company uses certain operating and financial measures that are not calculated in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP. A non-GAAP financial measure is defined as a numerical measure of a company's financial performance that (i) excludes amounts, or is subject to adjustments that have the effect of excluding amounts, that are included in the comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP in the statement of income or statement of cash flows; or (ii) includes amounts, or is subject to adjustments that have the effect of including amounts, that are excluded from the comparable measure so calculated and presented. Terms such as subscriber net additions, average revenue per user ("ARPU"), churn and cost per gross addition ("CPGA") are important operating metrics used in the wireless telecommunications industry. These metrics are important to compare us to other wireless service providers. ARPU and CPGA assist management in budgeting and CPGA also assists management in quantifying the incremental costs to acquire a new subscriber. Except for churn and net subscriber additions, the Company has included a reconciliation of these metrics to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. Churn and subscriber net additions are operating statistics with no comparable GAAP financial measure. ARPU and CPGA are supplements to GAAP financial information and should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, revenues, expenses, loss from continuing operations, or net income (loss) as determined in accordance with GAAP. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or "EBITDA", is a performance metric used by AirGate and by other companies. Management believes that EBITDA is a useful adjunct to loss from continuing operations and other measurements under GAAP because it is a meaningful measure of a company's performance, as interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization can vary significantly between companies due in part to differences in accounting policies, tax strategies, levels of indebtedness, capital purchasing practices and interest rates. EBITDA also assists management in evaluating operating performance and is sometimes used to evaluate performance for executive compensation. The Company has included below a presentation of the GAAP financial measure most directly comparable to EBITDA, which is loss from continuing operations, as well as a reconciliation of EBITDA to loss from continuing operations. EBITDA is a supplement to GAAP financial information and should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income (loss), loss from continuing operations, or operating income (loss) as determined in accordance with GAAP. EBITDA has distinct limitations as compared to GAAP information such as net income (loss), loss from continuing operations, or operating income (loss). By excluding interest and income taxes for example, it may not be apparent that both represent a reduction in cash available to the Company. Likewise, depreciation and amortization, while non-cash items, represent generally the decreases in the value of assets that produce revenue for the Company. -MORE- AirGate PCS Announces Second Quarter Fiscal 2004 Results Page 5 May 12, 2004 ARPU, churn, CPGA and EBITDA as used by the Company may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure of another company. The following terms used in this report have the following meanings: o "ARPU" summarizes the average monthly service revenue per user, excluding roaming revenue. The Company excludes roaming revenue from its ARPU calculation because this revenue is generated from customers of Sprint and other carriers that use our network and not directly from our subscribers. ARPU is computed by dividing average monthly service revenue for the period by the average subscribers for the period. o "Churn" is the average monthly rate of subscriber turnover that both voluntarily and involuntarily discontinued service during the period, expressed as a percentage of the average subscribers for the period. Churn is computed by dividing the number of subscribers that discontinued service during the period, net of 30-day returns, by the average subscribers for the period. o "CPGA" summarizes the average cost to acquire new subscribers during the period. CPGA is computed by adding the income statement components of selling and marketing (including commissions and upgrade costs), cost of equipment and activation costs (which are included as a component of cost of service and roaming) and reducing that amount by the equipment revenue recorded. That net amount is then divided by the total new subscribers acquired during the period. o "EBITDA" means earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. -MORE- AirGate PCS Announces Second Quarter Fiscal 2004 Results Page 6 May 12, 2004 AIRGATE PCS, INC. Consolidated Balance Sheets (Dollars in thousands, except share and per share amounts)
March 31, September 30, 2004 2003 ----------------- ----------------- (unaudited) Assets Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 48,593 $ 54,078 Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $3,861 and $4,635 24,477 26,994 Receivable from Sprint 11,957 15,809 Inventories 3,469 2,132 Prepaid expenses 5,699 2,107 Other current assets 316 145 ----------------- ----------------- Total current assets 94,511 101,265 Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization of $153,645 and $129,986 161,772 178,070 Financing costs 3,182 6,682 Direct subscriber activation costs 2,662 3,907 Other assets 1,017 992 ----------------- ----------------- Total assets $ 263,144 $ 290,916 ================= ================= Liabilities and Stockholders' Deficit Current liabilities: Accounts payable $ 2,247 $ 5,945 Accrued expense 13,970 12,104 Payable to Sprint 48,761 45,069 Deferred revenue 8,621 7,854 Current maturities of long-term debt 17,113 17,775 ----------------- ----------------- Total current liabilities 90,712 88,747 Deferred subscriber activation fee revenue 4,585 6,701 Other long-term liabilities 2,148 1,841 Long-term debt, excluding current maturities 257,237 386,509 Investment in iPCS - 184,115 ----------------- ----------------- Total liabilities 354,682 667,913 Commitments and contingencies - - Stockholders' deficit: Preferred stock, $.01 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding - - Common stock, $.01 par value; 30,000,000 shares authorized; 11,761,951 and 5,192,238 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2004 and September 30, 2003 118 52 Additional paid-in-capital 1,046,193 924,095 Unearned stock compensation (37) (203) Accumulated deficit (1,137,812) (1,300,941) ----------------- ----------------- Total stockholders' deficit (91,538) (376,997) ----------------- ----------------- Total liabilities and stockholders' deficit $ 263,144 $ 290,916 ================= =================
-MORE- AirGate PCS Announces Second Quarter Fiscal 2004 Results Page 7 May 12, 2004 AIRGATE PCS, INC. Consolidated Statements of Operations (Dollars in thousands, except share and per share amounts)
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended March 31, March 31, ----------------------------- ----------------------------- 2004 2003 2004 2003 ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- Revenue: Service revenue 61,656 $ 60,163 $ 123,829 $ 120,096 Roaming revenue 13,498 13,895 29,981 32,805 Equipment revenue 2,882 2,691 5,729 5,713 ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- Total revenue 78,036 76,749 159,539 158,614 Operating Expense: Cost of service and roaming (exclusive of depreciation and amortization as shown separately below) 39,422 40,747 81,911 92,170 Cost of equipment 7,202 3,455 13,788 10,302 Selling and marketing expense 11,916 11,384 26,063 28,203 General and administrative expense 6,337 5,844 12,804 10,036 Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment 11,892 11,625 23,659 23,244 Loss (gain) on disposal of property and equipment (3) 220 (5) 418 ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- Total operating expense 76,766 73,275 158,220 164,373 ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- Operating income (loss) 1,270 3,474 1,319 (5,759) Interest income 165 25 322 25 Interest expense (11,311) (10,197) (22,627) (20,391) ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- Loss from continuing operations before income tax (9,876) (6,698) (20,986) (26,125) Income tax - - - - ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- Loss from continuing operations (9,876) (6,698) (20,986) (26,125) Discontinued Operations: Loss from discontinued operations - (14,324) - (42,571) Gain on disposal of discontinued operations net of $0 income tax expense - - 184,115 - ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- Income (loss) from discontinued operations - (14,324) 184,115 (42,571) ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- Net income (loss) $ (9,876) $(21,022) $ 163,129 $(68,696) ============= ============= ============= ============= Basic and diluted weighted-average number of shares outstanding 8,152,162 5,185,887 6,664,131 5,175,241 Basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share: Loss from continuing operations $ (1.21) $ (1.29) $ (3.15) $ (5.05) Income (loss) from discontinued operations - (2.76) 27.63 (8.22) ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- Net income (loss) $ (1.21) $ (4.05) $ 24.48 $ (13.27) ============= ============= ============= =============
-MORE- AirGate PCS Announces Second Quarter Fiscal 2004 Results Page 8 May 12, 2004 AIRGATE PCS, INC. Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Key Operating Statistics (Dollars in thousands except per unit data)
For the Quarters Ended March 31, ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Increase Increase 2004 2003 (Decrease)$ (Decrease)% -------------- -------------- ---------------- ---------------- Total subscribers, end of period 367,807 358,564 9,243 2.6% Subscriber gross additions 41,741 43,003 (1,262) (2.9%) Subscriber net additions 7,909 5,755 2,154 37.4% Churn 2.92% 3.30% (0.38%) NM ARPU $ 56.48 $ 56.38 $ 0.10 0.2% CPGA $ 409 $ 302 $ 107 35.4% EBITDA $ 13,162 $ 15,099 $ (1,937) (12.8%) For the Quarters Ended March 31, ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Increase Increase 2004 2003 (Decrease)$ (Decrease)% -------------- -------------- ---------------- ---------------- Loss from continuing operations $ (9,876) $ (6,698) $ (3,178) (47.4%) Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment 11,892 11,625 267 2.3% Interest income (165) (25) (140) NM Interest expense 11,311 10,197 1,114 10.9% -------------- -------------- ---------------- EBITDA $ 13,162 $ 15,099 $ (1,937) (12.8%) ============== ============== ================ For the Quarters Ended March 31, ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Increase Increase 2004 2003 (Decrease)$ (Decrease)% -------------- -------------- ---------------- ---------------- Average Revenue Per User (ARPU): Service revenue $ 61,656 $ 60,163 $ 1,493 2.5% Average subscribers 363,853 355,687 8,166 2.3% ARPU $ 56.48 $ 56.38 $ 0.10 0.2% For the Quarters Ended March 31, ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Increase Increase 2004 2003 (Decrease)$ (Decrease)% -------------- -------------- ---------------- ---------------- Cost Per Gross Addition (CPGA): Selling and marketing expense $ 11,916 $ 11,384 $ 532 4.7% Plus: activation costs 838 843 (5) (0.6%) Plus: cost of equipment 7,202 3,455 3,747 108.5% Less: equipment revenue (2,882) (2,691) (191) (7.1%) -------------- -------------- ---------------- Total acquisition costs $ 17,074 $ 12,991 $ 4,083 31.4% ============== ============== ================ Gross additions 41,741 43,003 (1,262) (2.9%) CPGA $ 409 $ 302 $ 107 35.4%
-MORE- AirGate PCS Announces Second Quarter Fiscal 2004 Results Page 9 May 12, 2004 AIRGATE PCS, INC. Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Key Operating Statistics (Dollars in thousands except per unit data)
For the Six Months Ended March 31, ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Increase Increase 2004 2003 (Decrease)$ (Decrease)% -------------- -------------- ---------------- ---------------- Total subscribers, end of period 367,807 358,564 9,243 2.6% Subscriber gross additions 77,342 98,624 (21,282) (21.6%) Subscriber net additions 8,347 19,425 (11,078) (57.0%) Churn 2.99% 3.53% (0.54%) NM ARPU $ 56.76 $ 57.38 $ (0.62) (1.1%) CPGA $ 463 $ 354 $ 109 30.8% EBITDA $ 24,978 $ 17,485 $ 7,493 42.9% For the Six Months Ended March 31, ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Increase Increase 2004 2003 (Decrease)$ (Decrease)% -------------- -------------- ---------------- ---------------- Loss from continuing operations $ (20,986) $ (26,125) $ 5,139 19.7% Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment 23,659 23,244 415 1.8% Interest income (322) (25) (297) NM Interest expense 22,627 20,391 2,236 11.0% ---------------- ---------------- --------------- EBITDA $ 24,978 $ 17,485 $ 7,493 42.9% ================ ================ =============== For the Six Months Ended March 31, ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Increase Increase 2004 2003 (Decrease)$ (Decrease)% -------------- -------------- ---------------- ---------------- Average Revenue Per User (ARPU): Service revenue $ 123,829 $ 120,096 $ 3,733 3.1% Average subscribers 363,634 348,852 14,782 4.2% ARPU $ 56.76 $ 57.38 $ (0.62) (1.1%) For the Six Months Ended March 31, ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Increase Increase 2004 2003 (Decrease)$ (Decrease)% -------------- -------------- ---------------- ---------------- Cost Per Gross Addition (CPGA): Selling and marketing expense $ 26,063 $ 28,203 $ (2,140) (7.6%) Plus: activation costs 1,718 2,111 (393) (18.6%) Plus: cost of equipment 13,788 10,302 3,486 33.8% Less: equipment revenue (5,729) (5,713) (16) (0.3%) ---------------- ---------------- --------------- Total acquisition costs $ 35,840 $ 34,903 $ 937 2.7% ================ ================ =============== Gross additions 77,342 98,624 (21,282) (21.6%) CPGA $ 463 $ 354 $ 109 30.8%
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