Verizon Wireless drove the increase sales, with mobile revenues up 7.5 percent year-on-year to USD 21.5 billion. Retail service revenues grew 5.3 percent to USD 17.3 billion, helped by a 4.7 percent increase in postpaid ARPU to USD 159.73 per month. The wireless EBITDA margin on service revenues rose to 50.3 percent from 49.8 percent a year earlier.
The operator added a net 1.4 million retail lines in the quarter, all postpaid, for a total 104.6 million retail connections at the end of June. Of the total, 98.6 million were postpaid, up 4.6 percent from a year earlier. The company averaged 2.80 connections per customer account, up by 3.7 percent year-on-year thanks to the growing popularity of shared accounts in the US. Equipment sales included a net 304,000 postpaid phones activated and 1.15 million postpaid tablets.
In the wireline market, revenues rose 0.3 percent year-on-year to USD 9.8 billion, the first increase in seven years. The 5.3 percent growth in the consumer market was offset by a continued drop in business revenues. The consumer market was driven by a 14.4 percent rise in Fios revenues to USD 3.1 billion, helping consumer ARPU for wireline services increase 11.0 percent annually to USD 122.57. The wireline EBITDA margin reached 23.2 percent, compared with 22.2 percent in Q2 2013.
Verizon added a net 46,000 new broadband customers in the three months for a total 9.08 million. The loss of 93,000 DSL customers as offset by 139,000 new Fios internet subscribers. Fios TV customers grew by 100,000 in the quarter to 5.42 million, and Fios voice connections were up by 90,000 to 4.44 million. Verizon still lost a net 342,000 fixed voice connections in Q2, to finish June with a total 20.39 million.
The operator maintained its full-year guidance for capital expenditure of USD 16.5-17.0 billion, after USD 8.5 billion in H1. Verizon also still expects revenue growth of around 4 percent and a higher adjusted EBITDA margin this year.
