Sprint reports $594M worth of red ink, loses 1.25M customers

As the world waits for the Palm Pre to rejuvenate Palm and reinvigorate Sprint (NYSE: S)’s shrinking US wireless network, the No. 3 US wireless network is struggling to hold on to their most valuable market-segment – the post-paid wireless subscriber. Rival carriers have been pulling customers away with high-profile smartphones like the Verizon (NYSE: VZ) BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Storm and AT&T (NYSE: T) iPhone 3G, leading to a $594 million net loss for the first quarter of 2009.

The red ink-stained financial report confirms another bad quarter for Big Yellow. Sprint lost 1.25 million post-paid subscribers in Q1 2009, resulting in revenue of $8.21 billion. Sprint expects to make another 1,000 job cuts, following on already-aggressive job cuts that reduced the company’s workforce by 12.5%, to 49,000 employees.

On the bright-side, Sprint added 764,000 Boost pre-paid mobile subscribers, in large part due to the discount carrier’s $50 unlimited calling plans. The pre-paid additions blew analysts’ expectations of 185,000 to 600,000 new subscribers out of the water.

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse looked forward to the Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre’s launch, noting that the Pre had the potential to turn things around for Sprint’s post-paid business. The Palm Pre will initially be offered exclusively through Sprint, requiring new 2-year contracts. If the Palm Pre succeeds in capturing the hearts and minds of smartphone fans in the US, Sprint could very well see their business turn around for the better.

[Via: Reuters]