SAN DIEGO, Jan. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Leap Wireless International, Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP), a leading provider of innovative and value-driven wireless communications services, today announced that executive vice president and chief financial officer Walter Z. Berger has informed the Company that he will be leaving for another employment opportunity in the technology sector shortly following the filing of Leap's annual report on Form 10-K, which is expected to occur by February 29, 2012.
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"I'd like to thank Walter for his many valuable contributions to the Company," said Doug Hutcheson, Leap's president and chief executive officer. "Walter has played an important role in the significant improvements to our operating and financial performance during his nearly four years of service. He has also contributed to our growth and innovation initiatives including Muve Music' and our national distribution expansion. Leap is well positioned for its next phase of growth, and we appreciate Walter's professionalism in working with us to ensure a smooth transition. We wish him well in his new endeavor."
"I am proud of everything the Leap team has accomplished, especially over the last couple of years," said Berger. "Having now expanded into national retail distribution, the Company is in a very strong position to capitalize on trends toward ever more-sophisticated smartphones and faster 4G LTE networks. While I am looking forward to my new role, which represents a unique opportunity for me personally, I will miss working with Leap and its people, and I wish them all the best."
As previously announced, Leap plans to release full financial and operational results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2011, after the market close on Thursday, February 16, 2012. The Company previously announced on January 4th that it estimates that it added approximately 175,000 customers during the fourth quarter of 2011. The Company's estimated net customer additions for the fourth quarter include approximately 200,000 voice customers, approximately 65,000 of which were added outside of Cricket's network footprint areas. The Company expects customer churn for the fourth quarter of 2011 to be between approximately 3.7 and 3.9 percent. Finalization of the Company's fourth quarter 2011 results for net customer additions and churn is subject to the Company's regular quarterly closing process.
About Leap
Leap provides innovative, high-value wireless services to a young and ethnically diverse customer base. With the value of unlimited wireless services as the foundation of its business, Leap pioneered its Cricket service. Cricket products and services are available nationwide through company-owned stores, dealers, national retailers and at MyCricket.com. Through its affordable, flat-rate service plans, Cricket offers customers a choice of unlimited voice, text, data and mobile Web services. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Leap is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "LEAP." For more information, please visit www.leapwireless.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements reflect management's current expectations based on currently available operating, financial and competitive information, but are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements include our discussions about customer activity and expected financial and operational performance, and are generally identified with words such as "believe," "expect," "intend," "plan," "could," "may" and similar expressions. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could affect our forward-looking statements include, among other things:
- our ability to attract and retain customers in an extremely competitive marketplace;
- the duration and severity of the current economic downturn in the United States and changes in economic conditions, including interest rates, consumer credit conditions, consumer debt levels, consumer confidence, unemployment rates, energy costs and other macro-economic factors that could adversely affect demand for the services we provide;
- the impact of competitors' initiatives;
- our ability to successfully implement product and service plan offerings, expand our retail distribution and execute effectively on our other strategic activities;
- our ability to obtain and maintain roaming and wholesale services from other carriers at cost-effective rates;
- our ability to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting;
- our ability to attract, integrate, motivate and retain an experienced workforce, including members of senior management;
- future customer usage of our wireless services, which could exceed our expectations, and our ability to manage or increase network capacity to meet increasing customer demand;
- our ability to acquire additional spectrum in the future at a reasonable cost or on a timely basis;
- our ability to comply with the covenants in any credit agreement, indenture or similar instrument governing any of our existing or future indebtedness;
- our ability to effectively integrate, manage and operate our joint venture in South Texas;
- failure of our network or information technology systems to perform according to expectations and risks associated with the upgrade or transition of certain of those systems, including our customer billing system; and
- other factors detailed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" included in our periodic reports filed with the SEC, including our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2011 filed with the SEC on November 3, 2011.
All forward-looking statements included in this news release should be considered in the context of these risks. All forward-looking statements speak only as of January 26, 2012, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Investors and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements.
Leap is a U.S. registered trademark and the Leap logo is a trademark of Leap. Cricket, Cricket Wireless, Cricket Clicks, Jump, Jump Mobile, Flex Bucket, Real Unlimited Unreal Savings and the Cricket "K" are U.S. registered trademarks of Cricket. In addition, the following are trademarks or service marks of Cricket: BridgePay, Cricket By Week, Cricket Choice, Cricket Connect, Cricket Nation, Cricket PAYGo, Muve, Muve Music, Muve Money, Muve First, Muve Headliners, Cricket Crosswave, Seek Music, MyPerks, Cricket MyPerks and Cricket Wireless Internet Service. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
SOURCE Leap Wireless International, Inc.
