Q4
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T-Mobile USA revenue drops 5.2 percent to $4.9 billion for Q4 2012, customers and income also fall
Is it a good thing that T-Mobile's US operation is in the crosshairs of a MetroPCS merger? We'll see, but meanwhile the operator again shed revenue, customers and profit in Q4 2012. Total revenue dropped during the quarter to $4.9 billion from $5.2 billion last year, while income was down a whopping 25.1 percent to $1.05 billion year-over-year. Meanwhile the company lost 515,000 branded contract customers compared to 492,000 last quarter, representing a 'churn' rate of 2.5 percent in that category, a slight improvement over last year. All that culminated in a rather miserable year for the carrier, which earned $424 million less than in 2011 ($4.9 billion), while showing a total loss of $6.4 billion thanks to depreciation and impairment charges. Meanwhile, parent Deutsche Telecom said recently that MetroPCS would merge with T-Mobile as early as April -- which sounds like it can't come soon enough.
MetroPCS rakes in $1.3 billion for Q4 2012 thanks to 2.2 million new LTE customers
Over a quarter of MetroPCS' customer base is now on LTE (26 percent), and the company made $1.3 billion in revenue for Q4 and $5.1 billion total in 2012 as a result, it said. Though revenue was down for Q4 over last year to $122 million compared to $215 million for Q4 2011, profits were up year-over-year by 10 percent to $824 million, and the company said it made a record $1.5 billion EBITDA (before taxes, etc.) The company attributes that in part to a 2.2 million LTE subscriber bump, an increase of 117 percent over Q3 2012, but indicated that it lost 93 thousand subscribers total over the same period. It added that churn (customers leaving to other carriers) fell to 3.4 percent, its lowest level ever. Meanwhile, the carrier said it's proposed Deutsche Telecom-backed merger with T-Mobile is moving along swimmingly with a definitive proposal filed yesterday. It anticipates "closing the transaction in early April" ahead of schedule, which it says would make MetroPCS "the leading value wireless carrier in the United States."
IDC: connected device shipments up 29.1 percent in 2012, smartphones and tablets rule
Researchers at IDC have had their ears to the ground keeping tabs on shipments for specific types of devices, and now they've painted a bigger picture of the hardware battlefield in 2012. "Smart connected devices" -- a category which includes desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones -- saw a total of 367.7 million units shipped in Q4 2012, up 28.3 percent from the year before. In total, over 1.2 billion units were shipped last year, marking a 29.1 percent upswing from 2011. Naturally, tablets and smartphones drove the boost by carving out roughly 60 percent of the year's combined marketshare, while PCs and notebook shipments sank by 4.1 and 3.4 percent, respectively. While Samsung and Apple each claimed crowns in specific gadget divisions, Sammy came out on top with smart connected devices in 2012 as a whole (and in Q4) thanks to a 20.8 percent marketshare, beating Cupertino by 2.6 percent. Lenovo finished in third place with a 6.5 percent slice, while HP and Dell trailed behind with 4.8 and 3.2 percent, respectively. IDC notes that Cook. and Co. could have come in a more distant second, but the debut of the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini pulled it out of a slump from earlier in the year.
Tesla's Q4 2012 earnings: $90 million net loss, but forecasts a profit for Q1 2013
If you're one Elon Musk, you're probably ready for just about anything to take the place of the only story dominating the Tesla tagline for the past few weeks. Of course, a $90 million net loss isn't the ideal story to overtake the Model S kerfuffle, but hey -- at least the company's aiming to pull in a profit next quarter. In a bid to keep investors focused on the positive, the automaker's Q4 2012 shareholder letter notes that Tesla is officially predicting its first quarterly profit in Q1 2013, sliding up from "late 2013." For the quarter that just wrapped, the firm saw revenues of $306 million (a 500 percent increase sequentially from the $50.1 million seen in Q3 2012), and it ended the year with $221 million in total cash after having made the first quarterly principal payment of $12.7 million to repay the loan to the U.S. Department of Energy. Tesla also plans to deliver some 20,000 Model S vehicles in 2013, with around 4,500 of those happening in Q1. Europeans and Asians can expect their deliveries in "summer" / "late this year" (respectively), with the first Model X deliveries to occur in early 2014. Musk also told investors that it plans to "spend significantly less on capital expenditures" in 2013 compared to 2012, helping to (hopefully) generate "slightly positive net income on a non-GAAP basis" in Q1 2013.
EE sees contract activations fall during its first quarter with LTE
When EE activated its LTE network part-way through its fourth-quarter, there was an assumption speed-hungry Brits would storm the company's numerous stores to get at that super-fast mobile data. The reality, however, seems to indicate that it takes more than a Kevin Bacon commercial to send the homeland into a frenzy. The company's financial results show that the network only added 201,000 customers between October and December 31st -- 49,000 fewer than in Q3 and 112,000 fewer than signed up in the same period in 2011. EE also isn't breaking out figures for how many of its existing customers made the change -- so for now we'll have to assume that the UK isn't as sweet on the guy from Footloose as Olaf Swanee had hoped.
Sprint sells 2.2 million iPhones in Q4 2012 but sheds 1 million customers, $1.3 billion
Sprint announced its quarterly (and annual) results today, with overall revenues totaling $9 billion, up from the preceding quarter. Its wireless services formed $7 billion of that, but Hurricane Sandy was responsible for a $45 million hit to its bottom line. Sprint added that it's been able to sell 2.2 million iPhones, while its LTE network, launched last July, now handles more than 3 million connections. The network picked up 401,000 new post-paid subscribers in the process, but according to the figures, shedded 1 million existing ones from the Nextel part of the business. Its future owner, Softbank, was briefly mentioned in passing -- the Now Network received a $3.1 billion bond from the Japanese phone network for the merger.
NCsoft earnings report shows healthy growth
NCsoft just released its fourth quarter 2012 earnings report, and things are looking pretty good across the board for the multi-MMO company. NCsoft's earnings are up both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year due to the releases of Blade & Soul and Guild Wars 2, not to mention "record-breaking annual revenues" from Lineage. Guild Wars 2 accounted for 45% of the company's sales in Q4, followed by Lineage (24%) and Blade & Soul (10%). ArenaNet's newest game increased the North American market from 16% in Q3 to 25% in Q4. It's not completely sunshine and roses, however. Lineage II and Aion both experienced declines during the period. NCsoft's net income was in the red for the quarter and its stock has slid since September, losing half of its value in the process. [Thanks to Paul for the tip!]
Facebook finishes 2012 on a high note: Q4 revenue $1.585 billion, $64 million in net income
Facebook's Q3 earnings left something to be desired, as the social network posted a net loss. Zuckerberg and company have ended 2012 on a financial high note, however, as Facebook raked in $1.585 billion in revenue -- an increase of 40 percent year-over-year -- and net income of $64 million. The number of folks on Facebook also continues to grow, with its monthly active user count burgeoning to 1.06 billion as of December 31, 2012. Of particular interest is the breakdown of daily mobile vs. web users -- more folks used Facebook on phones and tablets than on the web for the first time in the company's history. Revenue generated from mobile isn't commensurate with the usage stats, however. Mobile advertising accounted for just 23 percent of the 'book's total ad revenue, though that is an increase from 14 percent in Q3, so that imbalance may not remain much longer. We'll be listening in on the earnings call and updating things here as more details are revealed, so stay tuned.
LG's Q4 earnings show a narrow yearly net profit of $80.75 million, improved income for all divisions
The latest company to release its quarterly and year-end earnings report is LG, and the good news is that unlike last year's losses, it has managed to eke out a net profit of $80.75 million. Revenues overall were down six percent from last year, but its operating profit moved way up to $1.01 billion from $342.06 million for 2011. Its TV division also reported record sales and a full year profit of over $480 million, while the cellphone division's revenue for Q4 was the highest of the year as it shipped 8.6 million smartphones. So what's on deck for 2013? As you may have heard, Ultra HD and OLED to push the extreme high end of HDTVs along with ever more 3D and connected models for the mass market. For phones, we can expect successors to the Optimus G (more than the Optimus G Pro?) and L-Series, plus LTE phones for the masses in the F-Series as high speed data continues to spread throughout Europe and emerging markets. There's a few more numbers in the press release after the break if you're interested, hit the source link to check out the presentation slides.
Samsung reports $8.27 billion in profits for Q4 2012
As Samsung predicted, Q4 2012 was another big one for the company with 8.84 trillion won ($8.27 billion) in operating profits, around double what it reported for the same period back in 2011. Overall revenue was also up, showing a gain of 18.5 percent from the same period last year for a total of 56.06 trillion won ($52.04 billion.) The company reported "strong" sales of tablets and smartphones, specifically calling out its Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II, which were last seen crashing through the 30 million and 5 million sold barriers, respectively. If you were hoping for a Galaxy S IV preview, it won't be found here, although Samsung expects demand for replacements and the expansion of LTE to drive sales, the anticipated seasonal drop in sales in Q1 suggests we won't see a new model right away. For its TVs, Samsung claimed overall demand was flat from last year, however a focus on higher end LED models drove higher profits. Samsung sees the 60-inch and higher market growing in 2013, however Q1 sales are expected to be slow before the new models are introduced. Samsung is also a major chip maker, and it reported weak demand for PC RAM, but growth in the server and mobile markets. Hit the source link to check out the PDF yourself or check out the press release after the break for more details. We didn't learn anything particularly illuminating on the conference call, however executives believe there are more surprises left in the smartphone market for innovative companies like Samsung -- take from that what you will.
Netflix Q4 earnings show 2 million new customers streaming in the US, 6 million total internationally
In 2012 Netflix expanded streaming to a few new countries and attempted to undo the damage incurred by its failed Qwikster spinoff in 2011, and now it's final results for the year are in. Its streaming subscriber count is now 27 million in the US alone, with 6 million outside the country for a global count topping 33 million. Most notably, despite the expansion it still managed a profit of $8 million on $945 million in revenue. There's also a slew of original content on the way headed by Arrested Development and House of Cards, and its OpenConnect ISP program has now gotten a boost from high bitrate 1080p video and even 3D. Now that the Video Protection Privacy Act has been amended, Netflix also mentioned Facebook integration will be enabled in the coming months for US customers. If you're worried about it spamming your feed you may be able to relax however, since by default it will not auto post viewing activity, instead opting to let members "post specific titles they're passionate about." So what about the competition from Amazon, Redbox Instant and Hulu? According to Netflix's stats based on its 200 most popular movies and TV shows, none of the other streaming services offer more than 73 of them (check out a graphic after the break.) Regarding that original content, Netflix is already referring to the February 1st worldwide, full-season debut of Cards as a "defining moment in the development of internet TV." We'll keep digging through the numbers and tune into the investor call at 6PM for more information, until then hit the source link to check out the data for yourself.
Majesco notes closures, no longer providing quantitative guidance
Majesco announced today for its fourth quarter ending October 31, 2012, the company experienced a net loss of $2.7 million, compared to a $3.9 million loss the prior year. Revenues for the full year were up six percent to $132.3 million, but concluded with a net income of $4.6 million, down $2 million from last year.The company also noted it has "implemented several initiatives to reduce fixed operating costs in favor of an outsourced, variable cost model." This included closing a studio in Foxboro, Massachusetts, and a reduction of game testing personnel in its New Jersey office.Here's the quote from the company's financial report that will likely raise some eyebrows: "As a result of the weakness in demand for products on legacy console platforms and uncertainty around consumer adoption of the next generation of consoles, management is modifying its practice of providing quantitative fiscal year revenue and earnings guidance. Instead, for fiscal 2013, management is presenting a qualitative assessment of its outlook for financial results."Boiled down, that means Majesco is no longer providing quantitative (a fancy word for numbers) guidance and is providing guidance based on a qualitative (um, warm fuzzy feelings?) assessment.If this seems vaguely familiar, THQ did almost the same thing in November and its stock plummeted 50 percent the following day. Comparatively, Majesco's stock has dropped 30 percent to $0.74/share in after-hours trading. If the company doesn't pick that up, Nasdaq will be calling in a month with a delisting warning – but Majesco has dealt with that possibility on a couple occasions in the past.
Samsung estimates $8.3 billion in profits for Q4, brags about phone sales
What's the lion's share look like in sales numbers? About 500 handsets a minute, according to Samsung. The Korean hardware giant flaunted the sales estimate in its Q4 investors guidance, where it says it expects to see $8.3 billion in profits when the official earnings report drops later this month. That's just shy of double what it reported over the same period in 2011. Sammy contributes the growth to a plentiful supply of regional variants of handsets like the Galaxy S III and Note II, as well as high demand for its display technology. The streak may not keep forever though, according to Reuters, analysts are predicting a first quarter slump without a new Galaxy S phone for the spring. We'll have to wait for the full earnings release to see how things pan out, but it doesn't look like the firm will be hurting for cash any time soon.
AT&T says it's on record pace for smartphone sales this quarter, 6.4 million sold already
We don't always get mid-quarter updates on sales from carriers, but AT&T's Ralph de le Vega was apparently eager to spill a few numbers during an investor conference today. As CNET reports, de la Vega revealed that AT&T has sold 6.4 million smartphones during the first two months of Q4, which he says puts the carrier on a "record pace" for the quarter. It's also caused the carrier to revise its projections for the full year, with it now forecasting smartphone sales of 26 million for all of 2012 (one million more than it had previously expected). De la Vega is also said to be "bullish" on tablets, but didn't go into specific numbers there, noting only that he "can't fathom how many tablets will be under the Christmas tree." He also didn't break down those smartphone sales by specific devices, but he said that AT&T had improved its supply of iPhones, and also remarked that he's "really excited" about Windows Phone sales (again, without getting into specifics).
Qualcomm Q4 2012 earnings: $4.87 billion in revenue, $1.27 billion net profit
With Qualcomm's powerful, versatile and efficient Snapdragon S4 taking the mobile world by storm, it should come as no surprise that the company's accountants are smiling more than ever. Today, the firm posted earnings for the fourth quarter of 2012, which includes a net income of $1.27 billion with revenues of $4.87 billion. In terms of profit, these figures represent a 20 percent year-over-year increase and a five percent bump when compared to the previous quarter. A peek inside Qualcomm's books reveal that the company is now sitting on $43 billion in assets and $9.4 billion in liabilities -- if only our own pocketbooks were overflowing in similar fashion. Feel free to count some beans for yourself at the source link below.
Liveblog of Apple 4Q 2012 earnings call
Today's the day for Apple's fourth-quarter 2012 earnings call. We'll be liveblogging the event, providing commentary on the event as it occurs. The fun starts at 5 PM ET sharp. Apple will be providing an audio stream of the earnings call, and the recording will be available for two weeks after.
Apple Q4 2012 earnings: $36 billion in revenue, $8.2 billion net profit
Just a day after introducing the iPad mini, a revised iMac, a 4th-generation iPad and a retooled Mac mini, the company is outing its Q4 2012 earnings -- and it looks as if it has narrowly fell short of Wall Street estimates. Revenue was pegged at $36 billion (compared to estimates of $35.08 billion), with net profit at $8.2 billion. For the sake of comparison, the outfit's fourth quarter of 2011 saw $28.27 billion in revenue alongside $6.62 billion net profit -- at the time, those comically large numbers were actually not up to Wall Street's comical expectations. If you're looking for a quarter-over-quarter comparison, the company's Q3 2012 report showed $35 billion in total revenue, with $8.8 billion in net profits. The company is guiding for $52 billion in revenues for Q1 2013, while announcing that it sold 26.9 million iPhones (up from 17.01 million a year ago), 14 million iPads (up from 11.12 million) and 5 million Macs (up from 4.89 million) in this quarter. As for the waning iPod business? Predictably, it sold just 5.3 million of those, representing a 19 percent drop from the year-ago quarter. Naturally, the company is expecting its next earnings report to be the one that blows everyone away, with holiday sales -- combined with a slew of new kit -- to propel things leading into 2013. Apple also announced that shareholders that hold stock as of November 12th will pick up a $2.65 / share dividend. As for other specifics, we're told that gross margin was 40.0 percent compared to 40.3 percent in the year-ago quarter, while international sales accounted for 60 percent of the quarter's revenue. Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO, proudly boasted: "We're pleased to have generated over $41 billion in net income and over $50 billion in operating cash flow in fiscal 2012. Looking ahead to the first fiscal quarter of 2013, we expect revenue of about $52 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $11.75." As for the outfit's current stash of on-hand cash? $121.3 billion. Yeah. The financial results call will get going at 5PM ET, and we'll be liveblogging it right here!
Neverwinter releasing Q4 2012, opens French and German websites
Neverwinter was the unexpected surprise of PAX East for us, which is why we're psyched that it should be in all our hot little hands by the end of the year. Perfect World announced that its upcoming Dungeons and Dragons MMO will launch globally in the fourth quarter of 2012. As part of the global efforts, Perfect World has opened up French and German websites to cater to the diverse European playerbase. Each localized website is just as informative and media-packed as its English counterpart. Cryptic Lead Producer Andy Velasquez is quite excited to be working on the project and anticipates players' delight when the game finally arrives: "As a fan of Dungeons and Dragons, it's a rewarding experience to develop Neverwinter and contribute to the lore of the franchise. We're taking calculated steps to ensure Neverwinter will captivate players with its immersive storylines and beautiful artwork while being a fast and fluid action game." [Source: Perfect World Entertainment press release]
Logitech president celebrates end-of-year earnings with management cull
Logitech's Q4 and full-year report makes for uncomfortable reading. Despite profits increasing by a factor of nine in the last quarter of the year, overall annual profit fell 44 percent from $143 million to $71 million. The company has already parachuted in former Whirlpool exec. Bracken P. Darrel to turn things around and recover the losses made when the company went big on Google TV. His first action has been to kick-start a restructuring operation that will save $80 million in costs, starting by cutting a whole management layer -- demoting current product VP Junien Labrousse and firing sales VP Werner Heid. Mr. Darrell is now working directly with his team on a new lineup of "stronger" products to be unveiled later this quarter, with an emphasis on Windows 8 peripherals and LifeSize video conferencing gear. [Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]
THQ earnings forecast improves due to Saints Row 3 sales, DLC
Are you ready for this? It's ... good news about THQ's finances. The company is revising its earnings forecast for the quarter ending March 31, now reporting expectations of "non-GAAP net sales of $160 million to $170 million, which is above the company's previous outlook of non-GAAP net sales in the range of $130 million to $150 million." Non-GAAP earnings include "adjustments" or other non-recurring costs that aren't included in the standardized GAAP numbers companies are required to report.Unfortunately, there's still some less-than-stellar news: The report will also have to account for "approximately $30 million to $50 million" in non-cash software development charges, "resulting from decisions made related to the company's previously-announced product strategy." A THQ representative tells Joystiq that these kinds of "charges" actually reflect a shift in expected performance of certain software – including the no-longer MMO Warhammer 40K Dark Millennium. As for why the company is doing less poorly than expected, THQ cites three factors: Saints Row the Third, of which THQ has now shipped over four million units; "higher-than-expected digital sales" ... mostly of Saints Row DLC; and "slightly" better sales of UFC Undisputed 3 than predicted.
