Holland’s largest cable operator Ziggo has announced total revenue of €1,375.7 million in 2010, up 7.1% versus the prior year. The results were driven by a strong take-up of broadband internet access and digital TV products.
The total number of digital TV homes reached 1,804,000 at December 31, 2010, representing 58.4% of the total number of 3,087,000 television homes. However, cable penetration dropped below 75% of 4,141,000 homes passed.
The number of broadband homes reached 1,549,000, up 6.9% from December 2009, while telephony customers came to 1,167,000, up 16.8% from the previous year. The total number triple play customers was 1,094,000. The total number of RGUs was 5,802,000, with ARPU €33.28, up 11.2%.
Of the total number of digital TV homes, about half take additional tiers or premium channels, totalling 897,000 homes. During Q4, 2010, the total number of digital homes grew by 72,000.
The company’s financial highlights include an adjusted EBITDA of €783.4 million, up 12.7% versus prior year; a free cash flow of €553.0 million, up 27.3% versus prior year and net debt to adjusted EBITDA leverage ratio down to 4.5x at December 31, 2010 compared to 5.4x at December 31, 2009
In a statement, Ziggo CEO Bernard Dijkhuizen said: “Ziggo continued its growth in 2010, proving the strength of its strategy and operations. The company showed a strong financial performance, in which the full synergies from the merger became visible. During the year we saw strong growth in subscribers and revenue, primarily based on having the best triple play bundle in the market, including appealing propositions for television and high-speed internet. Additionally, we were pleased to see that our customer satisfaction levels continued to increase and we will maintain our focus on further improvements in 2011.”
Ziggo is owned by Cinven and Warburg Pincus.
