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Surging sales help Teligent top 1Q estimates

Telecommunications provider Teligent Inc. (Nasdaq: TGNT) posted a smaller-than-expected loss in its first quarter Wednesday, losing $108 million, or $2.05 a share, on sales of $1.5 million.

First Call consensus expected it to lose $2.21 a share in the quarter.

Teligent shares closed up 1 ? to 55 7/8 ahead of the earnings report.

The $1.5 million in sales might not sound like much, but it represents an incredible improvement versus the year-ago quarter when it lost $38.5 million, or 73 cents a share, on sales of just $98,000.

In the quarter, Teligent launched local, long distance and high-speed Internet services in 11 markets, bringing the total number of in-service markets to 26.

``Teligent kicked into overdrive during the first quarter, accelerating revenue growth and quickly bringing new markets on line,'' said CEO Alex Mandl in a prepared release. "This was our first complete quarter of operations and our results underscore our ability to move very quickly into the marketplace."

Company officials said it doubled its base of installed customers to approximately 2,000 and increased total installed lines to nearly 17,600.

Teligent shares moved up to a 52-week high of 68 5/16 in April after falling to a low of 18 3/16 in August.

All eight analysts' following the stock rate it either a "buy" or "strong buy.">