First quarter revenues at NASDAQ-listed UK cable operator, NTL, were more or less flat year on year, down from £556.1 million to £546.5 million.
NTL’s business growth was essentially put on hold until January this year, when it emerged from a Chapter 11 bankruptcy procedure that alleviated its substantial debt. As a result of this process, the group lost around 80,000 customers during the course of 2002.
However, the company’s Home division has returned to growth in Q1 after this period of stagnation, with a net addition of 27,100 new customers. Churn – the proportion of people leaving the service – fell to 13%. This is the lowest churn rate in four years, but still significantly higher than rival BSkyB’s, which has hit a record low of just 9.3%.
NTL now has 2.7 million subscribers to its telephone, TV and internet services. One of the key areas of growth has been in broadband internet access, which added 144,000 customers in the quarter.
NTL’s restructure had a heavy financial impact on the group, with costs to advisors and employees passing £100 million during the refinancing period. However, the group’s net loss declined in Q1 2003, down from $459.9 million last year to $254.4 million.
Chief executive Barclay Knapp described the Q1 figures as a ‘fast start’ following the completion of the financial restructure. The company has now also begun to market itself again, with a direct mail campaign claiming that customers can save money by switching from BT to NTL.
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