Leap sales beat analyst estimates

Leap Wireless International Inc., operator of the Cricket and Jump pay-as-you-go mobile-phone services, reported third-quarter sales that topped analysts’ estimates after the company expanded its network.

Sales rose 40% to $409.7 million, the San Diego firm said.

The company, which had delayed its full third-quarter release while it corrected accounting errors, posted a third-quarter net loss of $43.3 million, or 64 cents a share, on costs to build out its network. That compared with a loss of $801,000, or 1 cent, a year earlier.

Leap added 36,484 new customers in the period. That missed a company forecast of 40,000. It had added 161,000 users a year earlier.

Service revenue rose 47% to $354.5 million. That topped the company’s estimates from last month.

The correction of accounting errors, which go back to 2004, may cut service revenue and operating income by $20 million each. The errors aren’t a result of employee misconduct, the company said.

Leap rose $2.86, or 8.4%, to $37 in extended trading after the report. The shares had fallen $1.16 to $34.14 in regular trading.