Unitymedia is fast emerging as the darling of Liberty Global’s operations in Western Europe. Under the management of the soon to retire Gene Musselman, MD, European broadband operations, the German cablenet increased its RGUs (Revenue Generating Units) by 6% year-on-year to reach 5.952 as of September 30, 2010.
Total revenue was up 8% to €235 million during Q3 2010 and 5% to €693 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2010, with blended ARPU per customer increasing 9% to €15.17 per customer in Q3. Adjusted EBITDA increased 15% to €136 million during Q3 2010 and 11% to €385 million during the first nine months of 2010
80,000 RGUs were added in the third quarter alone, compared to 76,000 in the corresponding period in 2009. The Unity3play bundle championed by Musselman’s predecessor Palm Sandhu continues to be a significant driver for the digital TV, broadband and telephony combination.
The bundling has helped push up the sales of so-called advanced services and were responsible for 75% of internet additions achieved during the quarter. 95% of new internet subscribers also opted for the telephony service.
Unitymedia’s TV subscribers now stand at 4.5 million, comprising 3.008 million analogue (45,000 down from Q3 2009) and 1.492 million digital homes (a 37,000 increase). As a whole TV subscribers have declined by 1% over the last 12 months, a combination of the competitive environment and price increases by the operator.
