Leap Wireless posts loss on expansion expenses

Leap Wireless International Inc., operator of the Cricket and Jump mobile-phone services, reported a loss in the fourth quarter as it spent more to expand its coverage area. Its shares rose on Leap’s subscriber forecast.

The net loss was $39.4 million, or 60 cents a share, compared with profit of $4.95 million, or 8 cents, a year earlier, San Diego-based Leap said. Sales rose 37% to $314.5 million, topping the $312.8-million average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg poll.

Leap, which offers prepaid phone service for about 10 cents a minute, reported an almost sixfold increase of 262,457 in net new customers, compared with a year earlier. Leap forecast net customer additions of 260,000 to 320,000 in the current quarter.

Shares of Leap, spun off from Qualcomm Inc. in 1998, rose 3.3% in late trading to $64.