Sprint Posts Net Loss but Revenue Gain on iPhone Nabbing the iPhone was a victory for Sprint Nextel, but the blockbuster handset has yet to pay off in profits for the company. Sprint Nextel, the nation's No. 3 cellphone carrier, on Wednesday reported a net loss income in the fourth quarter of $1.3 billion, or 43 cents a share, in contrast to a net loss of $929 million in the same quarter a year ago. The company said revenue climbed 5 percent to $8.7 billion. Wall Street analysts had forecast a loss of 38 cents a share and revenue of $8.7 billion, according to a survey by FactSet. Sprint's earnings illustrate the impact of Apple's iPhone on the network. The October-to-December period was the first quarter that the company offered Apple's smartphone, which has been a best-seller for its rivals AT&T and Verizon. The company said it sold 1.8 million iPhones. But the iPhone had a negative impact on the company's balance sheet due to the costs of equipment and subsidies of the handset, the company said. Apple said it sold 37 million iPhones over all during the quarter, of which AT&T sold 7.6 million units and Verizon sold 4.2 million. That means 37 percent of iPhones sales were in the United States. The iPhone is crucial ammunition for Sprint in its battle for new subscribers. While smartphone sales are soaring in the industry, the number of new customers signing up for phone contracts has been shrinking because so many people already have cellphones. Sprint's bid to lure subscribers to its network is its unlimited data plan, which AT&T and Verizon no longer offer. It appears to be working. Sprint said it added 1.6 million net subscribers in the October-to-December period, its best quarterly gain in six years and up from the previous quarter, when it added 1.3 million subscribers. Forty percent of its iPhone sales were to new customers. However, selling iPhones does not immediately lead to juicy profits. Sprint has said that it expected the iPhone to initially depress its earnings because of the high costs of subsidizing each handset, which lowers the retail price of the phone for customers signing a two-year contract. Sprint's chief financial officer, Joseph J. Euteneuer, previously said that each iPhone would cost the company about $200 more than other smartphones. The company said it does not expect the popular phone to turn a profit for Sprint until 2014.