KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Dow Jones News) -- Telecommunications giant Sprint Corp. said it will go ahead with a $500 million public offering of Sprint PCS Group stock to raise money to expand its wireless-telephone network.
The fast-growing wireless unit was spun off from Sprint Corp. in November. In the fourth quarter it added 830,000 customers, doubling sales from the previous quarter, it said. Sprint PCS added 1.7 million customers in 1998, for a total of 2.6 million customers.Sprint PCS, based in Kansas City, Mo., attributed its customer growth to its nationwide distribution links, the introduction of new products and services, strong holiday season sales and the opening of 48 new markets.
Proceeds from the offering will be used to finance the build out of new and existing markets for the company's personal communications services network.
Sprint PCS Group is expected to have fourth-quarter revenue of $430 million to $450 million. It will have a fourth-quarter loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $590 million to $610 million.
Analysts polled by First Call Corp. had expected Sprint PCS Group to have a fourth-quarter loss of $1.61 a share.
In morning trading, shares of Sprint Corp. were at $79.87 1/2, on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of Sprint's PCS Group were at $28.87 1/2, down 12 1/2 cents.