Liberty Global subsidiary UPC Holding reports 30% increase in revenues during 2005 to €2.09B

March 15, 2006

3 Min Read

AMSTERDAM -- UPC Holding B.V. ("UPC Holding") is providing today selected, preliminary financial information for the three months and year ended December 31, 2005. UPC Holding is a subsidiary of Liberty Global, Inc. ("Liberty Global") (Nasdaq: LBTYA - News, LBTYB - News, LBTYK - News). A copy of this press release will be posted to the investor relations section of the Liberty Global website (www.lgi.com). In addition, the full financials statements with the accompanying notes will be posted in the coming weeks. Highlights for the year compared to UPC Holding's results for the same period last year include(1):

  • Revenue growth of 30% to 2,086 million Euro

  • Operating cash flow growth of 24% to 769 million Euro(2)

  • Earnings (loss) before tax(3) improved by 30% to (638) million Euro

  • An organic(4) increase of 664,000 RGUs(5), a 105% improvement in net additions



Financial and Operating Results

Total consolidated revenue for the year ended December 31, 2005 increased 30% to 2,086 million Euro as compared to the same period last year. The increase was principally due to acquisitions and continued growth in our central and eastern European businesses. Eliminating the effects of exchange rate movements and acquisitions, revenue increased over 9% year over year.

Operating cash flow for the year ended December 31, 2005 increased 24% to 769 million Euro as compared to the prior year period. The increase was principally driven by the impact of acquisitions and the continued growth in our central and eastern European businesses; while partially offset by the Netherlands, where we are implementing our "digital-for-all" (D4A) project(6), and increased marketing costs from subscriber additions. Eliminating the effects of exchange rate movements and acquisitions, operating cash flow increased 9% year over year. Excluding the Netherlands as well as the effects of exchange rate movements and acquisitions, operating cash flow improved 22% year over year.

At December 31, 2005, UPC Holding had 11.6 million RGUs, which represented an organic increase of 664,000 RGUs and an increase of 1.5 million RGUs as a result of acquisitions during the year. The organic RGU net additions in 2005 represent a 105% increase in net additions over the prior year. The 664,000 organic net additions for the year ended December 31, 2005 include 388,000 broadband Internet subscribers, 229,000 telephony subscribers and 46,000 video subscribers. Our broadband Internet subscriber additions were strong in 2005, particularly due to the continued success of our high-speed internet access services in the Netherlands, Poland and Hungary. Our telephony additions were driven primarily by the continued success of our digital phone offerings in the Netherlands, France and Hungary. The digital video RGU increase was driven primarily by upgrades from our analog video subscriber base and increased subscribers to our DTH service offering. The "digital-for-all" project in the Netherlands is on track and by early March, our digital video subscribers in the market were over 170,000, double the total base at the end of December 2005.

2006 Guidance

With respect to the full year 2006 targets for UPC Holding B.V., we expect that revenue growth and capital expenditures (including capital lease additions) as a percentage of revenue will largely be in line with the consolidated targets for Liberty Global as set out in the press release dated March 14, 2006; while we expect OCF growth will be somewhat below Liberty Global's consolidated target. The UPC Holding 2006 targets may be impacted by the Netherlands where we expect flat OCF, due primarily to the continuing roll-out of the D4A project.

Liberty Global Inc. (Nasdaq: LBTY)

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