T-Mobile adds fewer wireless subscribers than expected amid intense competition

By Harshita Mary Varghese

Feb 11 (Reuters) - T-Mobile (TMUS) added less wireless subscribers successful the 4th fourth than analysts had expected, arsenic rivals ‌extended assertive deals and offers to lure customers.

Shares of the ‌company fell astir 3.4% successful premarket trading connected Wednesday.

During the October-December period, telecom operators typically ​ramp up promotions astir Black Friday and Cyber Monday, offering steep discounts connected devices and plans to capitalize connected vacation shopping.

Verizon, nether its caller CEO who has been moving connected the company's turnaround, added its highest quarterly ‌wireless subscribers successful six ⁠years during the 4th quarter, acknowledgment to deals specified arsenic 4 telephone lines for $100 per month.

"There was heightened device-centric ⁠competitiveness from 1 of our main competitors, who was trying to get immoderate header post-paid telephone growth," T-Mobile concern main Peter Osvaldik told Reuters.

T-Mobile inactive ​added 962,000 ​monthly-bill-paying telephone customers successful the quarter, ​the highest among the large ‌three U.S. wireless carriers. But the fig fell abbreviated of the 981,330 additions expected by analysts polled by FactSet.

The churn rate, the percent of customers who discontinue service, stood astatine 1.02% for T-Mobile's postpaid services, compared with 0.92% a twelvemonth earlier.

Total gross came successful astatine $24.33 billion, compared with ‌estimates of $24.11 billion, according to information compiled ​by LSEG.

This was helped by much customers ​opting for T-Mobile's premium ​plans that bundled subscriptions for Netflix and Hulu.

"We proceed to ‌see caller lawsuit accounts... taking ​our premium plans astatine ​60% instrumentality rates," Osvaldik said.

T-Mobile projected yearly adjusted escaped currency travel betwixt $18 cardinal and $18.70 billion, beneath analysts' mean anticipation of $18.90 billion, according ​to Visible Alpha.

The ‌cash travel guidance was apt impacted by higher integration costs related ​to the company's merger with UScellular.

(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese ​in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)