Liberty Global now expects to commercially launch Horizon in the Netherlands in the third quarter, followed by Switzerland. In its latest set of results, the company also says that broadband and telephony were the main drivers in the first quarter, with the company posting record overall subscriber growth.
At the same time, the addition of KBW to its portfolio made Germany the largest and most dynamic market in the company’s UPC Broadband Division.
Liberty Global gained 445,000 RGUs (revenue generating units) in the first quarter, of which around 18,000 were SOHOs (small office home office), with Germany (219,000) being the main contributor.
Although the company lost 86,000 video RGUs in Q1, compared to 85,000 a year, despite there now being 15% more video subscribers, it added 279,000 digital cable subscribers in the quarter.
As a result, digital penetration stood at 47% and 52% of digital cable subscribers opted for HD and/or DVRs.
In the DTH sector, UPC Broadband gained subscribers in all four CEE markets, the biggest being in Hungary, where it gained 7,000 subscribers in the first quarter.
Liberty Global’s revenues in Q1 amounted to $2,537 million (€1,956 million), compared to $2,257.9 million a year earlier.
Operating income stood at $494.3 million ($432.9 million) and net loss attributable to stockholders $25.1 million ($342.4 million).
