Cingular posts record profits in Q4 2006

Jan 24 2007 - 07:55 PM ET | AT&T, Cingular

AT&T's Cingular division posted record profits for the fourth quarter of 2006. Though investors have responded positively, analysis of AT&T's release shows that Cingular's post-paid growth has slowed quarter-over-quarter. Counting pre-paid and MVNO customers the numbers look a lot better and actually broke records.

AT&T executives are very excited about the iPhone and remain optimistic that their exclusive agreement with Apple will mean lots of new valuable post-paid customers. Financial analyst Jim Cramer noted today that the iPhone is a "neutron bomb" for AT&T's war against Verizon.

Key metrics of the release include:

• Net income of $782 million, up from $204 million in the year ago period
• Revenue hit $9.8 billion, of that service revenues were $8.8 billion
• Average monthly revenue per user increased to $49.29 with data taking a $7.19 chunk

Fourth quarter 2006 was the last period for Cingular as a jointly-owned company.