EX-99.1 2 usmq120238kex991.htm EX-99.1 Document

Exhibit 99.1   NEWS RELEASE
usmnewsrelease.jpg

As previously announced, UScellular will hold a teleconference on May 5, 2023, 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 2023 results
2023 guidance reaffirmed

CHICAGO (May 4, 2023) — United States Cellular Corporation (NYSE:USM) reported total operating revenues of $986 million for the first quarter of 2023, versus $1,010 million for the same period one year ago. Service revenues totaled $767 million, versus $787 million for the same period one year ago. Net income attributable to UScellular shareholders and related diluted earnings per share were $13 million and $0.15, respectively, for the first quarter of 2023 compared to $49 million and $0.57, respectively, in the same period one year ago.
“Postpaid subscriber trends improved year over year as we made progress toward stabilizing our customer base, but we still had net subscriber losses during the quarter and have more work to do," said Laurent Therivel, UScellular President and CEO. “We continue to make significant investments in advancing our network, while our cost optimization program is helping us improve efficiency. Finally, we continue to see momentum in two growth areas of the business - both fixed wireless and towers had another strong quarter.”
1


2023 Estimated Results
UScellular’s current estimates of full-year 2023 results are shown below. Such estimates represent management’s view as of May 4, 2023 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.
 2023 Estimated Results
 PreviousCurrent
(Dollars in millions)  
Service revenues$3,050-$3,150Unchanged
Adjusted OIBDA1
$725-$875Unchanged
Adjusted EBITDA1
$875-$1,025Unchanged
Capital expenditures$600-$700Unchanged

The following table reconciles EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted OIBDA to the corresponding GAAP measures, Net income or Income before income taxes. In providing 2023 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
 2023 Estimated Results Three Months Ended
March 31, 2023
Year Ended
December 31, 2022
(Dollars in millions)   
Net income (GAAP)N/A$14 $35 
Add back:   
Income tax expenseN/A11 37 
Income before income taxes (GAAP)$10-$160$25 $72 
Add back:   
Interest expense205 47 163 
Depreciation, amortization and accretion expense645 170 700 
EBITDA (Non-GAAP)1
$860-$1,010$242 $935 
Add back or deduct:   
Loss on impairment of licenses—  
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net15 10 19 
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net—  (1)
Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP)1
$875-$1,025$252 $956 
Deduct:   
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities145 44 158 
Interest and dividend income2 
Adjusted OIBDA (Non-GAAP)1
$725-$875$206 $790 
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, 2023, can be found on UScellular’s website at investors.uscellular.com.
2


Conference Call Information
UScellular will hold a conference call on May 5, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. Central Time.
Access the live call on the Events & Presentations page of investors.uscellular.com or at
https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/239182809
Access the call by phone at (888)330-2384 conference ID: 1328528.

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 4.7 million retail connections in 21 states. The Chicago-based company had 4,900 full- and part-time associates as of March 31, 2023. At the end of the first quarter of 2023, Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. owned 84 percent of UScellular. For more information about UScellular, visit uscellular.com.
Contacts
Colleen Thompson, Vice President - Corporate Relations of TDS
colleen.thompson@tdsinc.com
 
Julie 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 attract people of outstanding talent throughout all levels of the organization; UScellular's smaller scale relative to larger competitors; the ability to obtain or maintain roaming arrangements with other carriers on acceptable terms and changes in roaming practices; the ability to obtain access to adequate radio spectrum to meet current or anticipated future needs, including participation in FCC auctions; 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 with which UScellular does business; 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; cyber-attacks or other breaches of network or information technology security; potential conflicts of interests between TDS and UScellular; disruption in credit or other financial markets; deterioration of U.S. or global economic conditions; and the impact, duration and severity of public health emergencies. 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 Ended3/31/202312/31/20229/30/20226/30/20223/31/2022
Retail Connections     
Postpaid     
Total at end of period4,223,000 4,247,000 4,264,000 4,296,000 4,335,000 
Gross additions137,000 154,000 151,000 128,000 126,000 
Feature phones7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 2,000 
Smartphones86,000 99,000 102,000 90,000 89,000 
Connected devices44,000 49,000 44,000 34,000 35,000 
Net additions (losses)(24,000)(17,000)(31,000)(40,000)(44,000)
Feature phones(4,000)(6,000)(6,000)(8,000)(10,000)
Smartphones(21,000)(14,000)(16,000)(23,000)(26,000)
Connected devices1,000 3,000 (9,000)(9,000)(8,000)
ARPU1
$50.66 $50.60 $50.21 $50.07 $49.71 
ARPA2
$130.77 $130.97 $130.27 $130.43 $129.93 
Handset upgrade rate3
4.9 %7.0 %8.1 %6.0 %5.0 %
Churn rate4
1.27 %1.35 %1.42 %1.30 %1.30 %
Handsets1.06 %1.12 %1.15 %1.10 %1.10 %
Connected devices2.78 %2.99 %3.40 %2.73 %2.70 %
Prepaid
Total at end of period470,000 493,000 493,000 490,000 495,000 
Gross additions43,000 61,000 62,000 56,000 55,000 
Net additions (losses)(23,000)— 2,000 (4,000)(18,000)
ARPU1
$33.19 $33.34 $35.04 $35.25 $34.59 
Churn rate4
4.63 %4.11 %4.07 %4.07 %4.84 %
Market penetration at end of period
Consolidated operating population32,350,000 32,370,000 32,370,000 32,370,000 32,370,000 
Consolidated operating penetration5
15 %15 %15 %15 %15 %
Capital expenditures (millions)$208 $176 $136 $268 $137 
Total cell sites in service6,950 6,945 6,933 6,916 6,899 
Owned towers4,338 4,336 4,329 4,323 4,310 

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.
3Handset upgrade rate calculated as total handset upgrade transactions divided by average postpaid handset connections.
4Churn rate represents the percentage of the connections that disconnect service each month. These rates represent the average monthly churn rate for each respective period.
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,
 2023 2022 2023
vs. 2022
(Dollars and shares in millions, except per share amounts)   
Operating revenues   
Service$767 $787 (3)%
Equipment sales219 223 (2)%
Total operating revenues986 1,010 (2)%
Operating expenses   
System operations (excluding Depreciation, amortization and accretion reported below)182 185 (2)%
Cost of equipment sold253 257 (2)%
Selling, general and administrative345 325 %
Depreciation, amortization and accretion170 171 (1)%
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net10 N/M
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net (1)N/M
Total operating expenses960 939 %
Operating income26 71 (63)%
Investment and other income (expense)   
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities44 45 (2)%
Interest and dividend income2 N/M
Interest expense(47)(33)(41)%
Total investment and other income (expense)(1)13 N/M
Income before income taxes25 84 (70)%
Income tax expense11 32 (66)%
Net income14 52 (72)%
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests, net of tax1 (43)%
Net income attributable to UScellular shareholders$13 $49 (74)%
Basic weighted average shares outstanding85 86 (1)%
Basic earnings per share attributable to UScellular shareholders$0.15 $0.57 (73)%
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding86 87 (1)%
Diluted earnings per share attributable to UScellular shareholders$0.15 $0.57 (73)%
N/M - Percentage change not meaningful
5


United States Cellular Corporation
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
20232022
(Dollars in millions)  
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income$14 $52 
Add (deduct) adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash flows from operating activities  
Depreciation, amortization and accretion170 171 
Bad debts expense26 25 
Stock-based compensation expense 
Deferred income taxes, net7 22 
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities(44)(45)
Distributions from unconsolidated entities20 19 
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net10 
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net (1)
Other operating activities2 
Changes in assets and liabilities from operations
Accounts receivable37 15 
Equipment installment plans receivable1 — 
Inventory(1)(4)
Accounts payable(149)(62)
Customer deposits and deferred revenues(10)
Accrued taxes1 130 
Accrued interest9 10 
Other assets and liabilities(52)(40)
Net cash provided by operating activities41 311 
Cash flows from investing activities
Cash paid for additions to property, plant and equipment(196)(150)
Cash paid for licenses(5)(561)
Other investing activities9 
Net cash used in investing activities(192)(710)
Cash flows from financing activities
Issuance of long-term debt115 625 
Repayment of long-term debt(3)(126)
Issuance of short-term debt 60 
Repayment of short-term debt(60)— 
Repurchase of Common Shares (10)
Distributions to noncontrolling interests(1)(1)
Cash paid for software license agreements(7)(2)
Other financing activities(1)(2)
Net cash provided by financing activities43 544 
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash(108)145 
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash
Beginning of period308 199 
End of period$200 $344 
6


United States Cellular Corporation
Consolidated Balance Sheet Highlights
(Unaudited)
ASSETS
 March 31, 2023 December 31, 2022
(Dollars in millions)  
Current assets  
Cash and cash equivalents$154 $273 
Accounts receivable, net1,009 1,072 
Inventory, net262 261 
Prepaid expenses76 68 
Income taxes receivable4 
Other current assets57 45 
Total current assets1,562 1,723 
Assets held for sale18 26 
Licenses4,692 4,690 
Investments in unconsolidated entities477 452 
Property, plant and equipment, net2,658 2,624 
Operating lease right-of-use assets910 918 
Other assets and deferred charges680 686 
Total assets$10,997 $11,119 
7


United States Cellular Corporation
Consolidated Balance Sheet Highlights
(Unaudited)
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
 March 31, 2023 December 31, 2022
(Dollars in millions, except per share amounts)  
Current liabilities  
Current portion of long-term debt$15 $13 
Accounts payable214 356 
Customer deposits and deferred revenues229 239 
Accrued taxes33 35 
Accrued compensation44 84 
Short-term operating lease liabilities133 133 
Other current liabilities285 335 
Total current liabilities953 1,195 
Deferred liabilities and credits  
Deferred income tax liability, net715 708 
Long-term operating lease liabilities836 843 
Other deferred liabilities and credits601 604 
Long-term debt, net3,297 3,187 
Noncontrolling interests with redemption features
12 12 
Equity  
UScellular shareholders’ equity  
Series A Common and Common Shares, par value $1.00 per share88 88 
Additional paid-in capital1,704 1,703 
Treasury shares(96)(98)
Retained earnings2,872 2,861 
Total UScellular shareholders’ equity4,568 4,554 
Noncontrolling interests15 16 
Total equity4,583 4,570 
Total liabilities and equity$10,997 $11,119 
8


United States Cellular Corporation
Financial Measures and Reconciliations
(Unaudited)
Free Cash Flow
 Three Months Ended
March 31,
 20232022
(Dollars in millions)
Cash flows from operating activities (GAAP)$41 $311 
Cash paid for additions to property, plant and equipment(196)(150)
Cash paid for software license agreements(7)(2)
Free cash flow (Non-GAAP)1
$(162)$159 
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 and Cash paid for software license agreements.
9