NII Holdings Announces First Quarter 2014 Results

RESTON, Va., May 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- NII Holdings, Inc. [NASDAQ: NIHD] today announced its consolidated financial results for the first quarter of 2014. The Company reported a net loss of 52,000 subscribers for the quarter, bringing its quarter-end subscriber base to 9.4 million, a 4 percent decrease from a year ago. Financial results for the first quarter include consolidated operating revenues of $970 million, a 27 percent decrease compared to the first quarter of 2013; consolidated adjusted OIBDA loss, which excludes the impact of non-cash asset impairments, restructuring charges and other unusual items, of $84 million; and a consolidated operating loss of $239 million. For the first quarter 2014, the Company generated a net loss from continuing operations of $376 million, or $2.19 per basic share. Capital expenditures were $118 million for the period.

"Our focus for 2014 is to drive better operational and financial results by stabilizing our operations in Mexico and investing in subscriber growth in Brazil," said Steve Shindler, NII Holdings' chief executive officer. "Our 3G net subscriber additions in Brazil more than doubled this quarter from the fourth quarter of 2013, but were not enough to offset the continued subscriber losses in Mexico. We continue to believe that our focus on our core markets in Brazil and Mexico and our high quality networks, combined with aggressive rate plan offers and an increasing portfolio of smartphones, position us to attract customers and improve our results over the long term."

NII Holdings' consolidated average monthly service revenue per subscriber (ARPU) was $29 for the first quarter of 2014, down from $39 in the prior year. The Company also reported consolidated average monthly churn of 3.42 percent for the period, compared to 2.42 percent in the first quarter of 2013.  Consolidated cost per gross add (CPGA) was $290 for the first quarter 2014, a $13 increase from the year ago period.

The Company ended the first quarter with $5.9 billion in total debt and $1.7 billion in consolidated cash and short-term investments, resulting in $4.2 billion of net debt.

"Although our cash use is typically higher in the first half of the year, it was particularly high in the first quarter of 2014 due in part to the required prepayment of $135 million in annual spectrum fees in Mexico that have historically been due in the second quarter of the year. We also increased handset inventories by approximately $68 million, primarily in Mexico and Brazil, as we expanded our portfolio and prepared for the launch of iconic handsets in both markets," said Juan Figuereo NII Holdings executive vice president and chief financial officer. "With revenue generation falling short of our expectations and the need to continue to invest in subscriber growth, we are increasing the intensity of our focus on balancing investments with preserving liquidity."

Additional information relating to NII Holdings' first quarter 2014 results will be provided on the Company's earnings call on Monday, May 12, 2014 from 8:30 AM to 9:15 AM EDT.  The call is available via webcast, online at www.nii.com on the Investor Relations page or by phone at the numbers below.

Phone:
Domestic
1 800 741 4871 pass-code: NII HOLDINGS
International
+1 212 231 2914 pass-code: NII HOLDINGS
Please click here for additional Global Access Numbers

All participants are asked to dial in 10-15 minutes prior to the start of the conference call. If you are unable to participate, a rebroadcast of the conference call will be available for two weeks following the call. The call will also be available via webcast, online at www.nii.com on the Investor Relations page.

Conference Call Replay:
Domestic
1 800 633 8284 pass-code: 21715400 
International
+1 402 977 9140 pass-code: 21715400 

In addition to the preliminary results prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP) provided throughout this press release, NII Holdings has presented consolidated adjusted OIBDA, ARPU, CPGA and Net Debt. These measures are non-GAAP financial measures and should be considered in addition to, but not as substitutes for, the information prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations from GAAP results to these non-GAAP financial measures are provided in the notes to the attached financial table. To view these and other reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures that the Company uses and information about how to access the conference call discussing NII Holdings' first quarter 2014 results, visit the investor relations link at www.nii.com.

About NII Holdings, Inc.

NII Holdings, Inc., a publicly held company based in Reston, Va., is a provider of differentiated mobile communication services for businesses and high value consumers in Latin America. NII Holdings, operating under the Nextel brand in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Chile, offers fully integrated wireless communications tools with digital cellular voice services, data services, wireless Internet access and Nextel Direct Connect^® and International Direct Connect^SM, a digital two-way radio. NII Holdings is a Fortune 500 and Barron's 500 company, and has also been named one of the best places to work among multinationals in Latin America by the Great Place to Work^® Institute. The Company trades on the NASDAQ market under the symbol NIHD. Visit the Company's website at www.nii.com.

Nextel, the Nextel logo and Nextel Direct Connect are trademarks and/or service marks of Nextel Communications, Inc.

Visit NII Holdings' news room for news and to access our markets' news centers: nii.com/newsroom.

Safe Harbor Statement
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  This news release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the securities laws. The statements in this news release regarding the business outlook, future performance and forward-looking guidance, as well as other statements that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements are estimates and projections reflecting management's judgment based on currently available information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements.  With respect to these forward-looking statements, management has made assumptions regarding, among other things, the Company's ability to meet its business plans and maintain compliance with financial covenants under its existing operating company debt obligations, customer growth and retention, pricing, network usage, operating costs, the timing of various events, the economic and regulatory environment and the foreign exchange rates that will prevail during 2014.  Future performance cannot be assured and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include the risks and uncertainties relating to the impact on our financial results, not meeting our business plans or failing to meet our financial covenants on the required testing dates; the impact of more intense competitive conditions and changes in economic conditions in the markets we serve; the risk that our network technologies will not perform properly or support the services our customers want or need; the risk that customers in the markets we serve will not find our services attractive; potential reductions in the recorded value of our assets that may result from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and, in particular, fluctuations in the relative values of the currencies of the countries in which we operate compared to the U.S. dollar; unexpected results of litigation; and the additional risks and uncertainties that are described in NII Holdings' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, as well as in other reports filed from time to time by NII Holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release speaks only as of its date, and NII Holdings disclaims any duty to update the information herein.

Media Contacts:

NII Holdings, Inc.
1875 Explorer Street, Suite 1000
Reston, VA. 20190
(703) 390-5100
www.nii.com

Investor Relations: Tahmin Clarke
(703) 390-7174
tahmin.clarke@nii.com

Media Relations: Claudia Restrepo
(786) 251-7020
claudia.restrepo@nii.com

NON-GAAP RECONCILIATIONS
FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2014 AND 2013 
(UNAUDITED)

Consolidated OIBDA and Consolidated Adjusted OIBDA

Consolidated operating income before depreciation and amortization, or OIBDA, represents operating income before depreciation and amortization expense. Consolidated adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization, or adjusted OIBDA, represents consolidated operating income before depreciation expense, amortization expense, material non-cash asset impairments, severance costs associated with publicly announced restructuring plans and other material non-recurring or unusual charges. Consolidated OIBDA and consolidated adjusted OIBDA are not measurements under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, may not be similar to consolidated OIBDA and consolidated adjusted OIBDA measures of other companies and should be considered in addition to, but not as substitutes for, the information contained in our statements of operations. We believe that consolidated OIBDA and consolidated adjusted OIBDA provide useful information to investors because they are indicators of our operating performance, especially in a capital intensive industry such as ours, since they exclude items that are not directly attributable to ongoing business operations. Consolidated OIBDA and consolidated adjusted OIBDA can be reconciled to our consolidated statements of operations as follows (in millions):

Average Monthly Revenue Per Handset/Unit in Service (ARPU)

Average monthly revenue per subscriber unit in service, or ARPU, is an industry term that measures service revenues, which we refer to as subscriber revenues, per period from our customers divided by the weighted average number of subscriber units in commercial service during that period.  ARPU is not a measurement under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, may not be similar to ARPU measures of other companies and should be considered in addition, but not as a substitute for, the information contained in our statements of operations.  We believe that ARPU provides useful information concerning the appeal of our rate plans and service offerings and our performance in attracting and retaining high value customers.  Other revenue includes revenues for such services as roaming, handset maintenance, cancellation fees, analog and other.  ARPU can be calculated and reconciled to our consolidated statement of operations as follows (in millions, except ARPU):

Cost per Gross Add (CPGA)

Cost per gross add, or CPGA, is an industry term that is calculated by dividing our selling, marketing and handset and accessory subsidy costs, excluding costs unrelated to initial customer acquisition, by our new subscribers during the period, or gross adds.  CPGA is not a measurement under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, may not be similar to CPGA measures of other companies and should be considered in addition, but not as a substitute for, the information contained in our statements of operations.  We believe CPGA is a measure of the relative cost of customer acquisition.  CPGA can be calculated and reconciled to our consolidated statements of operations as follows (in millions, except CPGA):

Net Debt

Net debt represents total debt less cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments and restricted cash. Net debt is not a measurement under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, may not be similar to net debt measures of other companies and should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the information contained in our balance sheets. We believe that net debt provides useful information concerning our liquidity and leverage. Net debt as of March 31, 2014 can be calculated as follows (in millions):

Impact of Foreign Currency Fluctuations

The following table shows the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates on certain financial measures for the three months ended March 31, 2014 compared to the same period in 2013 by (i) adjusting the relevant measures for three months ended March 31, 2013 to levels that would have resulted if the average foreign currency exchange rates for the three months ended March 31, 2013 were the same as the average foreign currency exchange rates that were in effect for the three months ended March 31, 2014; and (ii) comparing the actual and adjusted financial measures for the three months ended March 31, 2013 to the similar financial measures for the three months ended March 31, 2014 to show the percentage change in those measures before and after taking those adjustments into account. The amounts reflected in the following table for operating income before depreciation and amortization on a consolidated basis and segment earnings for Nextel Brazil, Nextel Mexico and Nextel Argentina, before the adjustments for changes in foreign currency exchange rates, are based on the calculations contained elsewhere in these non-GAAP reconciliations for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013. The average foreign currency exchange rates for each of the relevant currencies during each of the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 are included in the notes to the table below. The information reflected in the following table is not a measurement under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the information contained in our statements of operations. We believe that these calculations provide useful information concerning our relative performance for the three months ended March 31, 2014 compared to the same period in 2013 by removing the impact of the significant difference in the average foreign currency exchange rates in effect for the period.

SOURCE NII Holdings, Inc.