It's a third-quarter results-fest in today's Euro telecom news digest, with EE , Virgin Media Inc. (Nasdaq: VMED), and Telenor Group (Nasdaq: TELN) all revealing their numbers.
Ill-advisedly named UK mobile operator Everything Everywhere -- the recently formed joint venture of Orange UK and T-Mobile (UK) -- reported third-quarter results today. The operator said its total customer base was 27.9 million in the quarter, up 1.4 percent compared with the same period last year. Third-quarter revenues increased slightly (0.1 percent) to £1.77 billion (US$2.6 billion), while average revenue per user (ARPU) was down 4 percent to £19.30 ($30.50) per month. (See Everything Everywhere Posts Q3 and UK Mobile Giant Flexes Its Muscle.)
All smiles at UK cable operator Virgin Media, which in its third-quarter results, also out today, reveals that it has almost doubled operating income year-on-year to £102 million ($161 million), while cable ARPU was up 3.7 percent to a record £46.38 ($73.36). At the same time Virgin announced that, from today, existing and "potential" customers can pre-register for its 100Mbit/s broadband service, which will initially be available in the London area and Yorkshire. (See Virgin Media Reports Q3 and Virgin's Business Broadband Broadside.)
Also lining up in the Q3 stakes is Norwegian group Telenor, which reported its third-quarter revenues up six percent year-on-year to 24.1 billion Kroner ($4.1 billion), with the familiar pattern of strong growth in Asian markets contrasting with more of a struggle in the Nordic region. Adjusted profits for the quarter, however, were down 15.4 percent year-on-year at NOK15.8 billion ($2.7 billion). (See Telenor Reports Q3 .)