But with high costs of developing its wireless network and dealing with device makers lingering, the wireless carrier reported $1 billion in net loss, including $1.5 billion in depreciation and write-offs related to the Nextel unit that was shut down last year. In the year-ago period, Sprint lost $1.3 billion.
The quarterly loss per share totaled 26 cents, better than analysts' estimate of 33 cents of per-share loss.
Shares of Sprint rose 2.7% Tuesday to end at $7.90.
Sprint's customers in all wireless plan types totaled 53.9 million at the end of the year, up from 53.5 million a year ago after years of losing business to bigger rivals like Verizon Wireless and AT&T.
Operating revenue for the Overland Park, Kansas-based company grew to $9.1 billion from $9 billion a year ago.
Sprint underwent massive changes in 2013, with results reflected in the year-end earnings. Softbank, a wireless carrier based in Japan, completed buying a controlling stake in Sprint -- about 80% -- in July. Shortly before the acquisition was completed, Sprint shut down the network operated by its subsidiary Nextel, leading to an exodus of customers.
The dissolution of Nextel hampered revenue and forced Sprint to write off assets related to the unit, but operating one fewer network helped improve the bottom line, the company said.
Since the acquisition closed, Softbank has invested cash in improving Sprint's network and product lineup in order to stem the loss of customers. Sprint still lags Verizon and AT&T in deploying LTE (Long-Term Evolution), the fastest data network technology currently available. Sprint's LTE coverage is available at about 340 markets nationwide.
"After a difficult start in deploying LTE and phasing out (Nextel's) network, there seem to be early signs of improving performance," says Roger Entner, mobile a! nalyst at Recon Analytics. "Going forward, Sprint has to continue to dramatically improve the LTE network while offering affordable plans."
About 58,000 subscribers -- after accounting for defections -- signed up for its "postpaid" plans, based typically on two-year contracts and considered more profitable for the company.
Prepaid plans, with cheaper monthly payments, are the fastest growing segment in the industry. Sprint's prepaid customer total grew by 322,000 during the quarter, outpacing postpaid plans.
About 5.6 million smartphones were sold during the period, but tablets were the hottest sellers in the stores. Sprint added 466,000 tablets to its network during the quarter. "This is what's pushing Sprint's customer growth," Entner says.
About 2.07% of Sprint customers ditched their postpaid plans during the quarter, slightly up from last year's "churn rate" of 1.98%.
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