EX-99.1 2 usmq120218-kex991.htm EX-99.1 Document

Exhibit 99.1   NEWS RELEASE
usmnewsrelease1.jpg

As previously announced, UScellular will hold a teleconference May 7, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. CDT. Listen to the call live via the Events & Presentations page of investors.uscellular.com.
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UScellular reports first quarter 2021 results
Strong results drive increases to 2021 guidance

CHICAGO (May 6, 2021) — United States Cellular Corporation (NYSE:USM) reported total operating revenues of $1,023 million for the first quarter of 2021, versus $963 million for the same period one year ago. Service revenues totaled $771 million, versus $762 million for the same period a year ago. Net income attributable to UScellular shareholders and related diluted earnings per share were $60 million and $0.69, respectively, for the first quarter of 2021 compared to $71 million and $0.81, respectively, in the same period one year ago.
“UScellular had a strong start to 2021,” said Laurent Therivel, UScellular President and CEO. “First quarter service revenues increased, showing the positive impact of higher ARPU. Operational and cost discipline throughout the quarter also contributed to our strong financial performance.
“With attractive promotions that are resonating with customers, postpaid and prepaid handset additions strengthened compared to the same period one year ago. We have adopted a regional model to be more agile, respond better to the customer, and execute more market-specific promotions.

“One of our top priorities and key competitive differentiators is to connect customers with the highest-quality network, including in underserved areas. Our 5G and network modernization programs are on track and we now offer 5G in portions of substantially all of our markets. We have also begun deploying our mmWave spectrum in order to offer fixed wireless access in three test markets, which will provide us with valuable learnings as we look to roll out this high-speed product to additional markets in our footprint. Our purchases of mid-band spectrum in the recent auctions will further enable our 5G capabilities well into the future.

“In April, we unveiled an exciting new brand campaign that highlights our community-first approach. “America’s Locally Grown Wireless” celebrates what makes UScellular such a special company. Over the years, we’ve become a national wireless provider with customers all over the country, but we’ve never lost sight of what’s important – staying loyal to the people and communities we serve and providing them a great wireless experience.

“I want to thank all of our associates for their contributions and enthusiasm in executing our 2021 growth strategies thus far. I’m confident that UScellular is well-positioned as we, along with the rest of the country, begin to recover from the pandemic.”
1


2021 Estimated Results
UScellular’s current estimates of full-year 2021 results are shown below. Such estimates represent management’s view as of May 6, 2021 and should not be assumed to be current as of any future date. UScellular undertakes no duty to update such estimates, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. There can be no assurance that final results will not differ materially from estimated results.
 2021 Estimated Results
 PreviousCurrent
(Dollars in millions)  
Service revenues$3,025-$3,125$3,050-$3,150
Adjusted OIBDA1
$800-$950$850-$950
Adjusted EBITDA1
$975-$1,125$1,025-$1,125
Capital expenditures$775-$875Unchanged

The following table reconciles EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted OIBDA to the corresponding GAAP measures, Net income or Income before income taxes. In providing 2021 estimated results, UScellular has not completed the below reconciliation to Net income because it does not provide guidance for income taxes. Although potentially significant, UScellular believes that the impact of income taxes cannot be reasonably predicted; therefore, UScellular is unable to provide such guidance.
  Actual Results
 2021 Estimated Results Three Months Ended
March 31, 2021
Year Ended
December 31, 2020
(Dollars in millions)   
Net income (GAAP)N/A$62 $233 
Add back:   
Income tax expenseN/A27 17 
Income before income taxes (GAAP)$175-$275$89 $250 
Add back:   
Interest expense150 39 112 
Depreciation, amortization and accretion expense680 170 683 
EBITDA (Non-GAAP)1
$1,005-$1,105$298 $1,045 
Add back or deduct:   
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net20 5 25 
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net— (1)— 
(Gain) loss on license sales and exchanges, net—  (5)
(Gain) loss on investments—  (2)
Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP)1
$1,025-$1,125$302 $1,063 
Deduct:   
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities170 42 179 
Interest and dividend income2 
Adjusted OIBDA (Non-GAAP)1
$850-$950$258 $876 
1EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted OIBDA are defined as net income adjusted for the items set forth in the reconciliation above. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted OIBDA are not measures of financial performance under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States (GAAP) and should not be considered as alternatives to Net income or Cash flows from operating activities, as indicators of cash flows or as measures of liquidity. UScellular does not intend to imply that any such items set forth in the reconciliation above are non-recurring, infrequent or unusual; such items may occur in the future. Management uses Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted OIBDA as measurements of profitability, and therefore reconciliations to Net income are deemed appropriate. Management believes Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted OIBDA are useful measures of UScellular’s operating results before significant recurring non-cash charges, gains and losses, and other items as presented above as they provide additional relevant and useful information to investors and other users of UScellular’s financial data in evaluating the effectiveness of its operations and underlying business trends in a manner that is consistent with management’s evaluation of business performance. Adjusted EBITDA shows adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and accretion, and gains and losses, while Adjusted OIBDA reduces this measure further to exclude Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities and Interest and dividend income in order to more effectively show the performance of operating activities excluding investment activities. The table above reconciles EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted OIBDA to the corresponding GAAP measure, Net income or Income before income taxes. Additional information and reconciliations related to Non-GAAP financial measures for March 31, 2021, can be found on UScellular’s website at investors.uscellular.com.
2


Stock Repurchase
During the first quarter of 2021, UScellular repurchased 54,900 Common Shares for $2 million.
Conference Call Information
UScellular will hold a conference call on May 7, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. Central Time.
Access the live call on the Events & Presentations page of investors.uscellular.com or at
https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/3155155/0CD2FBCBA421B063439060A77D169D23.
Access the call by phone at (833) 968-2187, conference ID: 2661419.

Before the call, certain financial and statistical information to be discussed during the call will be posted to investors.uscellular.com. The call will be archived on the Events & Presentations page of investors.uscellular.com.
About UScellular
United States Cellular Corporation provides a comprehensive range of wireless products and services, excellent customer support, and a high-quality network to customers with 5.0 million connections in 21 states. The Chicago-based company employed approximately 5,200 associates as of March 31, 2021. At the end of the first quarter of 2021, Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. owned 82 percent of UScellular. For more information about UScellular, visit uscellular.com.
Contacts
Jane W. McCahon, Senior Vice President - Corporate Relations and Corporate Secretary of TDS
jane.mccahon@tdsinc.com
 
Julie D. Mathews, IRC, Director - Investor Relations of TDS
julie.mathews@tdsinc.com

Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: All information set forth in this news release, except historical and factual information, represents forward-looking statements. This includes all statements about the company’s plans, beliefs, estimates, and expectations. These statements are based on current estimates, projections, and assumptions, which involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that may affect these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: intense competition; the ability to obtain or maintain roaming arrangements with other carriers on acceptable terms; the ability to obtain access to adequate radio spectrum to meet current or anticipated future needs, including participation in FCC auctions; the ability to attract people of outstanding talent throughout all levels of the organization; UScellular's smaller scale relative to larger competitors; changes in demand, consumer preferences and perceptions, price competition, or churn rates; advances in technology; impacts of costs, integration problems or other factors associated with acquisitions, divestitures or exchanges of properties or wireless spectrum licenses and/or expansion of UScellular's businesses; the ability of the company to successfully construct and manage its networks; difficulties involving third parties; uncertainties in UScellular’s future cash flows and liquidity and access to the capital markets; the ability to make payments on UScellular indebtedness or comply with the terms of debt covenants; conditions in the U.S. telecommunications industry; the value of assets and investments; the state and federal regulatory environment; pending and future litigation; potential conflicts of interests between TDS and UScellular; cyber-attacks or other breaches of network or information technology security; disruption in credit or other financial markets; deterioration of U.S. or global economic conditions; the impact, duration and severity of public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Investors are encouraged to consider these and other risks and uncertainties that are more fully described under “Risk Factors” in the most recent filing of UScellular's Form 10-K, as updated by any UScellular Form 10-Q filed subsequent to such Form 10-K.
 
For more information about UScellular, visit: www.uscellular.com
3


United States Cellular Corporation
Summary Operating Data (Unaudited)
As of or for the Quarter Ended3/31/202112/31/20209/30/20206/30/20203/31/2020
Retail Connections     
Postpaid     
Total at end of period4,406,000 4,412,000 4,401,000 4,372,000 4,359,000 
Gross additions143,000 171,000 168,000 129,000 132,000 
Feature phones3,000 2,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 
Smartphones101,000 117,000 98,000 82,000 88,000 
Connected devices39,000 52,000 66,000 44,000 42,000 
Net additions (losses)(6,000)11,000 28,000 12,000 (26,000)
Feature phones(9,000)(9,000)(8,000)(8,000)(10,000)
Smartphones6,000 12,000 8,000 11,000 (10,000)
Connected devices(3,000)8,000 28,000 9,000 (6,000)
ARPU1
$47.65 $47.51 $47.10 $46.24 $47.23 
ARPA2
$125.25 $124.87 $123.27 $120.70 $122.92 
Churn rate3
1.12 %1.21 %1.06 %0.89 %1.21 %
Handsets0.92 %1.01 %0.88 %0.71 %0.95 %
Connected devices2.53 %2.64 %2.35 %2.24 %3.11 %
Prepaid
Total at end of period496,000 499,000 506,000 496,000 494,000 
Gross additions62,000 56,000 65,000 62,000 57,000 
Net additions (losses)(3,000)(8,000)11,000 2,000 (12,000)
ARPU1
$35.25 $35.15 $35.45 $34.89 $34.07 
Churn rate3
4.37 %4.24 %3.59 %4.05 %4.67 %
Total connections at end of period4
4,961,000 4,968,000 4,962,000 4,919,000 4,903,000 
Market penetration at end of period
Consolidated operating population31,493,000 31,314,000 31,314,000 31,292,000 31,292,000 
Consolidated operating penetration5
16 %16 %16 %16 %16 %
Capital expenditures (millions)$125 $320 $216 $168 $236 
Total cell sites in service6,802 6,797 6,758 6,673 6,629 
Owned towers4,270 4,271 4,246 4,208 4,184 
1Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) - metric is calculated by dividing a revenue base by an average number of connections and by the number of months in the period. These revenue bases and connection populations are shown below:
Postpaid ARPU consists of total postpaid service revenues and postpaid connections.
Prepaid ARPU consists of total prepaid service revenues and prepaid connections.
2Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA) - metric is calculated by dividing total postpaid service revenues by the average number of postpaid accounts and by the number of months in the period.
3Churn rate represents the percentage of the connections that disconnect service each month. These rates represent the average monthly churn rate for each respective period.
4Includes reseller and other connections.
5Market penetration is calculated by dividing the number of wireless connections at the end of the period by the total estimated population of consolidated operating markets.
4


United States Cellular Corporation
Consolidated Statement of Operations Highlights
(Unaudited)
 
 Three Months Ended
March 31,
 2021 2020 2021
vs. 2020
(Dollars and shares in millions, except per share amounts)   
Operating revenues   
Service$771 $762 %
Equipment sales252 201 26 %
Total operating revenues1,023 963 %
Operating expenses   
System operations (excluding Depreciation, amortization and accretion reported below)185 180 %
Cost of equipment sold275 217 26 %
Selling, general and administrative305 335 (9)%
Depreciation, amortization and accretion170 177 (4)%
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net5 39 %
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net(1)— N/M
Total operating expenses939 913 %
Operating income84 50 67 %
Investment and other income (expense)   
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities42 45 (7)%
Interest and dividend income2 (52)%
Interest expense(39)(24)(66)%
Other, net N/M
Total investment and other income5 26 (82)%
Income before income taxes89 76 17 %
Income tax expense27 N/M
Net income62 72 (14)%
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests, net of tax2 32 %
Net income attributable to UScellular shareholders$60 $71 (15)%
Basic weighted average shares outstanding86 86 
Basic earnings per share attributable to UScellular shareholders$0.70 $0.82 (15)%
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding88 88 
Diluted earnings per share attributable to UScellular shareholders$0.69 $0.81 (15)%
N/M - Percentage change not meaningful
5


United States Cellular Corporation
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
20212020
(Dollars in millions)  
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income$62 $72 
Add (deduct) adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash flows from operating activities  
Depreciation, amortization and accretion170 177 
Bad debts expense7 33 
Stock-based compensation expense6 
Deferred income taxes, net23 52 
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities(42)(45)
Distributions from unconsolidated entities22 24 
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net5 
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net(1)— 
Other operating activities(1)— 
Changes in assets and liabilities from operations
Accounts receivable4 55 
Equipment installment plans receivable(18)23 
Inventory7 (50)
Accounts payable(86)97 
Customer deposits and deferred revenues7 (10)
Accrued taxes3 (49)
Accrued interest9 
Other assets and liabilities(53)(57)
Net cash provided by operating activities124 342 
Cash flows from investing activities
Cash paid for additions to property, plant and equipment(133)(315)
Cash paid for licenses(1,256)(26)
Cash paid for investments (1)
Cash received from divestitures and exchanges1 — 
Net cash used in investing activities(1,388)(342)
Cash flows from financing activities
Issuance of long-term debt492 — 
Repayment of long-term debt (2)
Common Shares reissued for benefit plans, net of tax payments(1)— 
Repurchase of Common Shares(2)(21)
Payment of debt issuance costs(1)(1)
Distributions to noncontrolling interests(1)(1)
Other financing activities(2)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities485 (24)
Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash(779)(24)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash
Beginning of period1,291 291 
End of period$512 $267 
6


United States Cellular Corporation
Consolidated Balance Sheet Highlights
(Unaudited)
ASSETS
 March 31, 2021 December 31, 2020
(Dollars in millions)  
Current assets  
Cash and cash equivalents$479 $1,271 
Short-term investments3 
Accounts receivable, net994 998 
Inventory, net139 146 
Prepaid expenses63 51 
Income taxes receivable124 125 
Other current assets43 29 
Total current assets1,845 2,623 
Assets held for sale1 
Licenses3,915 2,629 
Investments in unconsolidated entities455 435 
Property, plant and equipment, net2,419 2,466 
Operating lease right-of-use assets933 924 
Other assets and deferred charges580 602 
Total assets$10,148 $9,681 
7


United States Cellular Corporation
Consolidated Balance Sheet Highlights
(Unaudited)
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
 March 31, 2021 December 31, 2020
(Dollars in millions, except per share amounts)  
Current liabilities  
Current portion of long-term debt$2 $
Accounts payable282 387 
Customer deposits and deferred revenues158 151 
Accrued taxes47 48 
Accrued compensation40 82 
Short-term operating lease liabilities120 116 
Other current liabilities90 85 
Total current liabilities739 871 
Liabilities held for sale 
Deferred liabilities and credits  
Deferred income tax liability, net656 633 
Long-term operating lease liabilities879 875 
Other deferred liabilities and credits393 376 
Long-term debt, net2,981 2,489 
Noncontrolling interests with redemption features
10 10 
Equity  
UScellular shareholders’ equity  
Series A Common and Common Shares, par value $1.00 per share88 88 
Additional paid-in capital1,657 1,651 
Treasury shares(66)(67)
Retained earnings2,796 2,739 
Total UScellular shareholders’ equity4,475 4,411 
Noncontrolling interests15 15 
Total equity4,490 4,426 
Total liabilities and equity$10,148 $9,681 
8


United States Cellular Corporation
Financial Measures and Reconciliations
(Unaudited)
Free Cash Flow
 Three Months Ended
March 31,
 20212020
(Dollars in millions)
Cash flows from operating activities (GAAP)$124 $342 
Less: Cash paid for additions to property, plant and equipment133 315 
Free cash flow (Non-GAAP)1
$(9)$27 
1Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure which UScellular believes may be useful to investors and other users of its financial information in evaluating liquidity, specifically, the amount of net cash generated by business operations after deducting Cash paid for additions to property, plant and equipment.
9