Clearwire posts $71M Q1 2009 loss despite growth

Clearwire’s push to become the first nationwide mobile WiMAX carrier in the US has apparently put a dent in the company’s finances. Despite adding 25,000 new customers in Q1 2009, bringing Clearwire’s subscriber-base to a cool half-million (500,000) customers, Clearwire has posted a $71 million loss for the first quarter of 2009. Still, the fiscal loss is an improvement compared to Clearwire’s loss of $76.4 million in the year-ago quarter.

As Clearwire ramps up deployment of their WiMAX network in the US, the company expects to see churn rate increase. But, if Clearwire can maintain the kind of growth that helped deliver $62.1 million in sales, a 21% increase from the previous year’s Q1, the WiMAX operator may see their finances turning around. It’s just a matter of getting their nationwide WiMAX network online and ready to take on HSPA+ and LTE networks from AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless.

[Via: CellularNews]