Tech
Barclay Knapp is standing down as President and Chief Executive Officer of Britain's largest cable operator, ntl:home, on August 15th. Knapp will remain with the company in a consulting role through to the end of the year. The current Chief Operating Officer of the company, Simon Duffy, has been named as his replacement.
The announcement was made at the unveiling of ntl's second quarter results, which show ntl:home continuing to add customers, building on prior additions in the first quarter. This trend reverses a customer net disconnection rate experienced while ntl was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection status.
On the figures, ntl saw a modest rise in revenue compared to the same period last year - up to £551.3m from £549m. Growth at ntl:home and in ntl's Ireland operations pushed the figure up, counterbalancing lower revenues at ntl Business, ntl Broadcast, and ntl Carriers compared to 2002's second quarter. The net loss was £159m, compared to £284.8m in the same period last year. Worries over continued availability of cash for the company were dismissed in the financial report, with £359.4m in cash available at June 30, 2003. ntl is currently pursuing strategies to reduce its high cost debt, although it is stressed that at this point, it "cannot be assured that a refinancing will be completed."
On to specific numbers from ntl:home, where the division ended the quarter with 2.753m customers and 5.24m revenue generating units. The company reports net customer additions were 47% higher than those in the first quarter of this year - actual figures being 129,300 gross customer additions versus 89,500 disconnections. Average revenue per unit, a measure of the average amount an ntl customer pays, was up slightly compared to Q2 2002, to £41.04. An increase in the number of triple-play customers, who take phone, TV and broadband service, helped push the ARPU measure higher. 18% of ntl's subscriber base is now triple-play, compared to an estimate of 8% in Q2 2002. Churn currently stands at 12.9%. TV, Broadband and telephony areas all saw customer increases, with ntl now being the fourth largest ISP in the UK, with overall market share at 11% and a 36% broadband market share.
The announcement was made at the unveiling of ntl's second quarter results, which show ntl:home continuing to add customers, building on prior additions in the first quarter. This trend reverses a customer net disconnection rate experienced while ntl was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection status.
On the figures, ntl saw a modest rise in revenue compared to the same period last year - up to £551.3m from £549m. Growth at ntl:home and in ntl's Ireland operations pushed the figure up, counterbalancing lower revenues at ntl Business, ntl Broadcast, and ntl Carriers compared to 2002's second quarter. The net loss was £159m, compared to £284.8m in the same period last year. Worries over continued availability of cash for the company were dismissed in the financial report, with £359.4m in cash available at June 30, 2003. ntl is currently pursuing strategies to reduce its high cost debt, although it is stressed that at this point, it "cannot be assured that a refinancing will be completed."
On to specific numbers from ntl:home, where the division ended the quarter with 2.753m customers and 5.24m revenue generating units. The company reports net customer additions were 47% higher than those in the first quarter of this year - actual figures being 129,300 gross customer additions versus 89,500 disconnections. Average revenue per unit, a measure of the average amount an ntl customer pays, was up slightly compared to Q2 2002, to £41.04. An increase in the number of triple-play customers, who take phone, TV and broadband service, helped push the ARPU measure higher. 18% of ntl's subscriber base is now triple-play, compared to an estimate of 8% in Q2 2002. Churn currently stands at 12.9%. TV, Broadband and telephony areas all saw customer increases, with ntl now being the fourth largest ISP in the UK, with overall market share at 11% and a 36% broadband market share.
More: Tech, Cable TV and Broadband
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