MetroPCS Communications Inc. (NYSE: PCS) posted a jump in quarterly earnings, better than market expectations, helped by a settlement gain and revenue growth.
Earnings were $192.67 million or $0.52 per share for the third quarter, compared with $69.33 million or $0.19 per share in the comparable period of last year.
Excluding a $53 million gain on settlement related to certain securities, earnings per share would have been 38 cents, topping market forecasts of 26 cents.
Revenue rose 5 percent to $1.26 billion, matching Wall Street projections.
Total operating expenses declined 6 percent to $966.9 million.
MetroPCS ended the third quarter with around 9.0 million subscribers.
Quarterly churn fell 80 basis points to 3.7 percent from the same period last year. Cost per user (CPU) was $18.38, down 6 percent due to a decline in retention expense for existing customers, a decrease in long distance cost and a decrease in taxes and regulatory fees.
Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 1,260 basis points to 41.5 percent.
MetroPCS noted it surpassed 1 million 4G LTE subscribers, representing roughly 12 percent of total subscribers.
PCS shares, which have been trading in the 52-week range of $5.53 to $14.51, ended at $10.59 on Friday.