Telewest delivers third quarter results

Telewest has delivered a mediocre set of third quarter results, just one month after announcing a long-awaited merger with NTL.

In the period, which covers the three months ending September 30, the firm managed 11,000 net customer additions, down by 4,000 on the previous quarter and down by 6,000 on the equivalent quarter in 2004. Gross additions were up by 10,000 to 89,000.

Monthly ARPU stood at £45.17, up from £44.86 on the previous quarter.

Overall churn was up to 1.4%, blamed mostly on students, who tend to take broadband products and churn out at the end of the year.

Triple play penetration rose from 24.4% in 2004 to 35%, putting the company on track to reach its 40% target next year, one earlier than planned.

Of the three services, broadband flourished the most in the quarter, with 67,000 net additions, 37% of which were new customers. Most entered at the lowest broadband tier, however, causing monthly broadband ARPU to fall £0.36 to £19.03. The figure is expected to fall further next quarter as a result of wide-ranging price cuts.

Conversion from analogue to digital TV continued through the quarter; 91% of TV subscribers are now digital. Telewest expects to switch off the analogue signal by the end of 2006.