(from www.sec.gov)
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Metrocall Inc. |
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From the April 28, 1997 Washington Post
| '96 (in $ 000s) | % Change From '95 | |
| Revenue | 149,957 | 35.3 |
| Net Income | (49,910) | -- |
Description:
Metrocall is the nation's fifth-largest paging and electronic messaging company, with 2.1 million subscribers clustered primarily in the mid-Atlantic region, Florida, California and Texas. The company also has nationwide paging capability on a smaller scale.
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Metrocall continued to grow in 1996, doubling its subscriber total primarily through acquisitions but also by expanding existing franchises. Although revenue rose to a record $150 million for 1996, expansion costs also left Metrocall with its largest annual loss—$49.1 million.
The acquisition of A+ Network Inc. added 660,000 paging customers in the Southeast. This was one of four mergers Metrocall completed last year that added 800,000 subscribers. Metrocall was unable to meet its goal of expanding to a 3 million-subscriber system in 1996, however, because of a collapse of investor support for the industry. Along with other paging companies, Metrocall's stock has been hard-hit, plunging from about $20 a share in January 1996 to $4.06" on Friday.
Metrocall said its acquisition campaign would resume in the first half of 1997 with the anticipated completion of the merger of Page America Group Inc. of Northern New Jersey.
Analysts are divided about how Metrocall will fare in an anticipated new wave of consolidation in the paging industry. Some experts believe Metrocall's investments in marketing and improved customer service, as well as expansion, will make it a survivor. Others argue that Metrocall eventually will be absorbed by one of its larger competitors that has chosen to invest more heavily in new paging and messaging technologies.
