Exceeded 14 Million RGUs in Q3 with 80,000 Additions in the Quarter
Lightning Delivering Strong Growth; Over 50% of Build will now be FTTP
Q3 Operating Income up 30% and Rebased Segment OCF up 6%
Virgin Media Inc. (“Virgin Media”) is the leading cable operator in the U.K. and Ireland, delivering 14 million broadband, video and fixed-line telephony services to 5.7 million cable customers and mobile services to 3 million subscribers.
Operating and financial highlights*:
• Organic customer additions of 45,000 in Q3 and 117,000 YTD driven by summer promotions highlighting our superior speeds and additions from new build activity
o Record U.K. organic customer additions of 49,000 in Q3 and 135,000 YTD supported by a reduction in U.K. churn from 14.1% in Q3 2015 to 13.8% in Q3 2016
• Q3 organic RGU additions improved YoY and sequentially to 80,000; YTD at 223,000, up 140% YoY
o U.K. RGU additions of 92,000 in Q3 was comprised of 60,000 broadband internet, 21,000 fixed-line telephony additions and a return to growth in TV with 11,000 video additions
o Gained over 75% market share of broadband additions in our cable footprint in the U.K.
o Quarterly RGU growth in the U.K. represents our best Q3 additions since 2009
• Mobile net adds of 9,000 in Q3, with 26,000 postpaid gains partially offset by prepaid attrition
• Expect to build between 450,000 to 500,000 Project Lightning premises in 2016 across the U.K. and Ireland
o Added 95,000 new build premises in Q3; taking the YTD Project Lightning build to 250,000
o More than 50% of new build will now be fibre to the premises (“FTTP”)
o Customer penetration, ARPU and build costs in line with business plan
• Focused on delivering continued improvements in customer experience
o Virgin TV relaunch underway with new TV bundles, new user-interface and Virgin Exclusives
o Deployed new, improved WiFi router to 18% of U.K. broadband base since launch in Q4 2015
o Launched 4G mobile services in Ireland in July and will launch 4G in the U.K. this month
• Implemented 5.1% average U.K. consumer price rise effective November 1, 2016
• On November 1, we acquired Arqiva WiFi with 31,000 WiFi hotspots in 6,500 locations in the U.K.
• Rebased revenue growth of 3% in Q3 and YTD to £1,204.5 million and £3,580 million, respectively
o Cable subscription revenue increased by 4% in Q3 and 3% YTD on a rebased basis
• Operating income increased 30% in Q3 to £85 million and decreased 5% YTD to £253.5 million
• Rebased Segment OCF8 growth of 6% in Q3 to £530 million and 3% YTD to £1,584 million
• Property and equipment additions at 26% of revenue in Q3 and 24% of revenue YTD
For the full Liberty Global release, go to: https://www.libertyglobal.com/pdf/press-release/Liberty-Global-Fixed-Income-Release-Q3-2016-FINAL.pdf *The financial figures contained in this release are prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP
ENDS
Virgin Media offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline.
The company’s dedicated, ultrafast network delivers the fastest widely available broadband speeds to homes and businesses. We’re expanding this through our £3bn Project Lightning programme, which will reach 17 million premises by the end of 2019.
Our interactive TV service brings live programmes, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games in a set-top box, as well as on-the-go for tablets and smartphones.
We launched the world’s first virtual mobile network, offering fantastic value and services. We are also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland.
Through Virgin Media Business, we support entrepreneurs, businesses and the public sector, delivering the fastest speeds and tailor-made services.
Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international cable company, with operations in more than 30 countries.
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