Kabel Deutschland’s first half financials have painted a familiar picture with falls in basic cable subscribers being more than compensated by increases in internet, telephony and premium TV subscriptions.
Commenting on the results for the period April 1 to September 30, 2010, CEO Adrian von Hammerstein said the company’s growth strategy had substantiated the performance. “Our financial figures indicate we are staying on course for growth and seamlessly following through on the positive trend. High demand for powerful, attractively priced products remains our most important growth driver, particularly in the area of Internet, Phone, and our Premium TV business offerings”.
Revenues increased by 6.8% to €785.8 million, while adjusted EBITDA rose 10.4% to €355.2 million. Net losses reduced to €7.8 million, almost a quarter of the €26.9 million reported at the same point in 2009/10.
Total RGUs (the clinical term for each individual product taken by subscribers) was up by 473,500 year-on-year to 12.314 million. Internet and phone again made a significant contribution, between them increasing RGUs by 28.5% on 1,088,500 and 1,124,200 respectively, while premium TV was up from 1.008 million to 1.135 million.
Monthly ARPU exceeded €13 for the first time with the average Kabel Deutschland customer now taking 1.39 products. The Monthly Average Revenue Per User in the second quarter was €13.08 and €12.97 for the six monthly period.