Liberty Global Reports Accelerating Subscriber Growth

By Maria Armental 

Telecommunications company Liberty Global PLC on Thursday reported strong subscriber additions as it swung to a quarterly profit, largely tied to trading gains.

London-based Liberty Global, controlled by American media mogul John Malone, was formed by the 2005 merger of Europe's then-largest cable operator, UnitedGlobalCom, and Mr. Malone's Liberty Media International. Its operations include some of Europe's largest markets, such as Germany and the U.K., where it owns Virgin Media. But the company, which has been spending heavily amid an expansion push, has posted mostly a string of losses, ending the quarter with more than $50 billion of debt.

European Union regulators have conditionally approved Liberty Global's bid to combine its business in the Netherlands with Vodafone Group PLC, a joint venture valued at roughly EUR3.5 billion based on combined revenue and capital expenditure after integration costs.

On Thursday, Liberty Global said in a regulatory filing that the effects of the U.K.'s vote to leave the European Union could hurt its business and that it was also facing challenges in Puerto Rico, due to the economic crisis there.

In addition to its European holdings, Liberty Global also offers cable services in the Caribbean and Latin America, including Puerto Rico.

Meanwhile, Liberty Global resumed its buyback program following its May acquisition of Cable & Wireless Communications. The company said it bought $700 million in stock during the quarter and intends to buy at least $3 billion more by the end of 2017.

Over all, Liberty Global reported a profit of $101.4 million, compared with a loss of $464.7 million a year earlier.

Revenue rose 11% to $5.07 billion, above analysts' projections.

It added 2.2 million subscribers in the second quarter, compared with 314,100 a year earlier. Excluding the effect of acquisitions, Liberty Global reported an increase of 277,000 subscribers, compared with 138,300 a year earlier.

Shares, inactive in after-hours trading, closed Thursday at $32.41, down 12% this year.

Write to Maria Armental at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 04, 2016 19:22 ET (23:22 GMT)

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