Engaged to AT&T, T-Mobile Loses Another 281,000 Contract Customers as Revenue Dips

Still awaiting approval for its deal to be acquired by AT&T, T-Mobile USA lost further ground in the last quarter, according to financial results released on Thursday.

The U.S. wireless arm of Deutsche Telekom said its revenue for the June quarter was $5.05 billion, down from $5.16 billion in the prior quarter and $5.36 billion in the second quarter of 2010. Net income in the second quarter of 2011 was $212 million, up 57 percent sequentially, but down 48 percent from last year’s second quarter.

On the subscriber front, T-Mobile said it lost 50,000 overall customers, as a drop of 281,000 contract customers was partially offset by gains in the prepaid segment. The average monthly revenue per customer was $46, about where it has been the last few quarters, but down $1 per month from the second quarter of last year, as prepaid customers make up an increasing percentage of the comapny’s business.

“The United States remains a difficult market for Deutsche Telekom, but we see improvements compared to the first quarter of 2011,” Deutsche Telekom CEO René Obermann said in a statement, adding that the company plans to stick with its current strategy.

The company also noted $13 million in expenses related to the pending AT&T deal, which it hopes will close early next year, despite opposition from Sprint and others.