Continued subscriber growth has helped NTL narrow its third quarter loss according to financial results unveiled today.

The cable operator added 53,900 net subscribers during the quarter; as usual, much of this growth came from broadband subscriptions. A total of 140,500 net RGUs (revenue generating units), a measure of how many NTL services are taken in total, were added during the quarter bringing the total to 6.32m. That averages out to 1.96 RGUs per customer, an improvement from 1.93 in the third quarter of 2004. The increased RGUs per customer figure is indicative of more people subscribing to multi-service packages. Around 27.2% of NTL's customer base now take all three services - broadband, phone and Internet - offered by the company.

Revenues in NTL's consumer division were £377.5m for the quarter, with strong broadband revenue growth offsetting lower revenues from telephony and TV services. Revenues in those two areas declined due to lower usage and fewer Sky premium subscribers respectively.

NTL Business recorded revenues of £105.2m, down £15.8m from Q3 2004. Much of that decline was due to Virgin.net revenues no longer being classed as wholesale, although the conclusion of a contract with Vodafone also contributed.

On the bottom line, NTL's operating loss in the quarter narrowed to £4.7m compared to £7.8m in the same period last year.