Verizon sells 3.2 million iPhones, earns $3.91 billion in Q1, 2012

Verizon has reported it’s first quarter, 2012 income and it includes the sale of 3.2 million iPhones, and $3.91 billion in net revenue. Their wireless business, which includes the iPhone and iPad, was up 7.7% in services, 8.9% in retail year-over-year. They added almost 3/4 of a million net new retail customers, almost half a million of which were postpaid. That makes their total reach now 93 million, of which 88 million are postpaid.

The iPhone numbers are down, of course, given the previous quarter included the launch of the iPhone 4S and the initial rush of immediate adopters has passed. Yet 3.2 million is still a strong number, and the iPhone still outsells every other smartphone on the network, combined.

Verizon, of course, continues to complain about the high initial cost of the iPhone, which it subsidizes and then earns back over the course of — typically high priced — two year contracts.

“Verizon delivered double-digit earnings growth and strong cash flow this quarter,” said Lowell McAdam, Verizon chairman and CEO. “We built momentum coming out of 2011, and our results show that we continue to execute in the key growth areas of our business. Verizon Wireless produced both great growth and great margins, and we produced another strong quarter of FiOS growth. We are confident we will improve Wireline margins for the full year. Our repositioning of Verizon Enterprise Solutions has better aligned our strengths in high-growth markets, and we expect our enterprise business to contribute even more to overall Wireline revenue growth and profitability over time.”

He added: “We remain confident in our ability to take advantage of the growth opportunities we see, and we are focused on driving operating efficiencies. We are on track with our plans and expect to continue to deliver strong results.”

And here are the “wireless highlights”

Wireless Financial Highlights

• Service revenues in the quarter totaled $15.4 billion, up 7.7 percent year over year. Retail service revenues grew 8.9 percent year over year, to $14.9 billion, an increase of 110 basis points over fourth-quarter 2011 and the highest growth rate in three years.
• Data revenues were $6.6 billion, up $1.1 billion – or 21.1 percent – year over year, and represent 42.9 percent of all service revenues. Total revenues were $18.3 billion, up 8.2 percent year over year.
• Retail postpaid ARPU grew 3.6 percent over first-quarter 2011, to $55.43. Retail postpaid data ARPU increased to $23.80, up 16.0 percent year over year. Retail service ARPU grew 3.4 percent, to $53.66.
• Wireless operating income margin was 28.6 percent. Segment EBITDA margin on service revenues (non-GAAP) was 46.3 percent.

Wireless Operational Highlights

• Verizon Wireless added 734,000 retail net customers in the first quarter, including 501,000 retail postpaid net customers. These additions exclude acquisitions and adjustments.
• At the end of the first quarter, the company had 93.0 million retail customers, a 5.2 percent increase year over year, including 88.0 million retail postpaid customers.
• At the end of the first quarter, nearly 47 percent of Verizon Wireless’ retail postpaid customer phone base were smartphones, up from 43.5 percent at the end of fourth-quarter 2011.
• Retail postpaid churn was 0.96 percent, an improvement of 5 basis points year over year. Total retail churn was 1.24 percent, an improvement of 9 basis points year over year.
• Verizon Wireless continued to roll out its 4G LTE mobile broadband network, the largest such network in the U.S. As of today, Verizon Wireless 4G LTE service is available to more than 200 million people in 230 markets across the U.S. – more than two-thirds of the population.
• Verizon Wireless introduced five new 4G LTE devices in the first quarter 2012: the Droid 4 and Droid Razr Maxx by Motorola, the Spectrum and Lucid by LG, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7. In addition, the Apple iPad with Wi-Fi + 4G became available from Verizon Wireless in mid-March.

Source: Verizon, The Next Web