Unitymedia KabelBW, the wholly-owned German cable unit of US operator Liberty Global Inc (LGI), has reported revenue of EUR443.0 million (USD541.6 million) for the three months ended 30 June 2012, an increase of 11% over the year-ago quarter, while turnover rose 10% from EUR792.9 million in the first half of 2011 to EUR873.6 million in the same period of 2012. The rise is revenue was underpinned by strong growth in the company’s digital TV, internet and telephony services. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 9% in both the second quarter and first half of 2012 to EUR261.6 million and EUR510.9 million, respectively. The company meanwhile recorded a net loss of EUR25 million in the three month-period and EUR43 million for 1H12. Capital expenditures were EUR117.5 million in Q2 and EUR237.2 million during H1 2012, or 27% of revenue for both periods. Unitymedia KabelBW comprises Unitymedia, which operates networks in the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, and Baden-Wurttemberg-based Kabel BW. Unitymedia was purchased by LGI in January 2010 for an enterprise value of EUR3.5 billion, while Kabel BW was snapped up from Swedish private equity firm EQT in March 2011 for EUR3.16 billion. A plan to merge Kabel BW with Unitymedia was approved by the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) in December 2011, and the merger was completed on 1 July 2012, although the individual brands continue to exist in the pair’s separate footprints.
Unitymedia Kabel BW served around seven million customers throughout its combined footprint at 30 June 2012, and provided a total of 10.801 million services (up 8% from 10.006 million at mid-2011), comprising 6.739 million cable video subscriptions, 2.016 million internet subscriptions (an increase of 27% year-on-year) and 2.045 million telephony subscriptions (up 26%). During the second quarter of 2012 it added 189,300 RGUs, a 15% increase year-on-year. At mid-2012 Unitymedia KabelBW passed 12.551 million homes, 96% of which (12.098 million) are fully upgraded to the EuroDOCSIS 3.0 standard, enabling broadband speeds of up to 150Mbps.