While the recession is proving to be detrimental to many businesses, Virgin Mobile actually experienced stellar results in the last quarter of 2008. Industry observers tie the mobile virtual network operator's success to the slowing economy.

The MVNO announced selected preliminary key metrics for the three months and full year that ended Dec. 31, 2008. Virgin Mobile USA ended the year with approximately 5,380,000 customers, including postpaid and hybrid customers added with the acquisition of Helio, which closed on Aug. 22, 2008, and prepaid customers looking for a more affordable option due to the slowing economy.

"The stronger we are, of course, the more valuable our customer base," said Jayne Wallace, spokeswoman for Virgin Mobile USA, Warren, NJ. "We continue to have a very engaged customer base, and one with whom the brand resonates whether it's through use of their phone, getting free airtime from Sugar Mama or attending the Virgin Mobile Festival."

Fourth quarter net customer additions were approximately 216,000 with churn for the fourth quarter of 2008 at 4.8 percent, as the company saw a benefit from consumers looking for value in a challenging economic environment.

Known for its prepaid offerings, the Helio acquisition allowed Virgin Mobile USA to add postpaid and hybrid customers.

The company attracted more than 3.3 million gross customer additions during the year.

Virgin Mobile USA expects to release complete financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2008 on March 3, 2009.

Virgin Mobile USA will present at the 2009 Citi Global Entertainment, Media & Telecommunications Conference today, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, at the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, AZ, at approximately 9:45 a.m. MST.

Investors may listen to the investor conference webcast by logging on prior to the start of the presentation at http://investorrelations.virginmobileusa.com.

The live webcast will be archived for 30 days after the conference ends.

Presentation materials will also be posted on Virgin Mobile USA's investor relations homepage.
Virgin Mobile USA Inc., through its operating company Virgin Mobile USA L.P., offers millions of customers Plans Without Annual Contracts and postpaid offerings through Helio By Virgin Mobile, with national coverage for both powered by the Sprint PCS network.

Virgin Mobile USA allows customers to earn free minutes in exchange for viewing advertising content online through the Sugar Mama program.

Virgin Mobile USA's handsets are available at approximately 40,000 retailers nationwide and online at http://www.virginmobileusa.com, with Top-Up cards available at more than 140,000 locations.

The company will release the Helio Ocean 2 in February.

"The initiatives we have implemented throughout 2008 have begun to show clear benefits to our results," said Dan Schulman, CEO of Virgin Mobile USA, Warren, NJ, in a written statement. "Our new offers have helped lead to strong customer growth and improved retention as consumers look for value and flexibility during uncertain economic times.

"Our hybrid plans continue to grow in popularity, accounting for over 50 percent of our gross adds in October and November and 29 percent of our subscriber base at the end of November," he said. "We expect the growth of these plans to lead to continued improvement in ARPU trends in the fourth quarter of 2008."