DCEL news - Dobson Communications Updates Second Quarter Operating Trends in Conjunction With Today's Annual Meeting of Shareholders 6/15/2004 10:20:13 AM
OKLAHOMA CITY, Jun 15, 2004 (PRIMEZONE via COMTEX) -- Dobson Communications Corporation (DCEL) today announced that, in conjunction with its 2004 annual shareholders meeting, the Company is updating several key second quarter operating trends. Dobson's annual meeting of shareholders is scheduled to be held at 9 a.m. CT in Oklahoma City.
Among the key operating trends and events:
-- Gross subscriber additions through May continued to be slower than expected, although the Company anticipates stronger gross additions in the second half of the year.
-- Customer churn continues to trend positively, below the target of 2 percent average postpaid churn for the year.
-- The Company's subscriber base is transitioning more quickly than expected to GSM, based on a high percentage of GSM gross additions and migrations. As of the close of business on June 14, 2004, more than 93,000 of the Company's 1.6 million subscribers were on GSM calling plans, compared with approximately 11,800 GSM subscribers at the end of March and approximately 40,300 at the end of April.
-- The Company expects that second quarter 2004 average revenue per unit (ARPU) will be higher than ARPU for the first quarter, although slightly lower compared with the second quarter last year. The Company expects stronger ARPU performance in the second half of the year.
-- Roaming minutes of use (MOUs) in the second quarter appear to be in line with or slightly ahead of MOUs for the second quarter last year. In its first quarter earnings conference call, held on May 11, 2004, the Company stated that second quarter 2004 roaming MOUs were anticipated to be slightly below those for the same quarter last year.
-- Finally, the Company expects, through its operating subsidiary, Dobson Cellular Systems, Inc., to complete the acquisition of the assets of NPI-Omnipoint Wireless, LLC this week.
Dobson plans to address its guidance on these and other operating metrics when it holds its second quarter earnings conference call, which is planned for 8 a.m. CT (9 a.m. ET) on Tuesday, August 10, 2004. The Company plans to release second quarter earnings the previous afternoon.
Slides from Dobson Communications' 2004 annual shareholders meeting will be posted today on the Company's web site at www.dobson.net, under "Investor Relations, Presentations".
About Dobson Communications
Dobson Communications is a leading provider of wireless phone services to rural markets in the United States. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the Company owns wireless operations in 16 states. The Company serves 1.6 million customers. For additional information on the Company and its operations, please visit its Web site at http://www.dobson.net.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Dobson's plans, intentions and expectations. Such statements are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These risks include, but are not limited to, the successful introduction of GSM calling plans in all its markets, availability of handsets, and increased competition. A more extensive discussion of the risk factors that could impact these areas and Dobson's overall business and financial performance can be found in Dobson's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Given these concerns, investors and analysts should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
SOURCE: Dobson Communications Corporation
Dobson Communications Corporation J. Warren Henry, Vice President Investor Relations (405) 529-8820
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.