Alltel (NYSE: AT) reported its fourth-quarter earnings today, saying it added more than 1 million gross customers for the first time ever during the fourth quarter, and had record customer additions for the full year 2007. But the costs of going private weighed heavy on the company’s results, which turned to a loss in the quarter of $525 million, compared to a profit of $216 million reported a year ago. In Q4, Alltel reported revenue of $2.3 billion, up 9 percent from $2.1 billion a year prior. In 2007, revenues hit a new record of $8.8 billion, increasing 12 percent over 2006. Net income for the year totaled $183 million, including $653 million of merger-related costs.

In November, Alltel was purchased by TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners for $24.7 billion. The company cited $619 million in takeover costs, and took on $23 billion in debt. Some of its debt is public, which is why the private company continues to report its earnings, AP reports.

Other results:

-- Alltel added 1 million gross customers through internal growth, a 14 percent increase from a year ago. Internal net additions were 342,684, and reported post-pay churn was 1.34 percent and total churn was 1.81 percent. At the end of the year, Alltel reported 12 million subscribers.

-- ARPU was $54.59, up 3 percent from last year. Data revenue per customer reached a new high of $6.74, a 63 percent increase year-over-year.