Indebted NTL enjoys solid rise in earnings

Beleaguered cable group NTL reported a solid rise in first-quarter core earnings yesterday, but said its lack of cash could rein in its 2002 growth.

Revenue in the Irish business grew 40 per cent on the back of the introduction of digital services, according to a spokeswoman.

"Although our current business plan includes a reduction in the number of new customers and an increase in revenue from existing customers, our cash constraints present many challenges to the successful execution of the plan," the company said.

NTL also warned investors that it might not complete its refinancing quickly enough to keep its operations going, although chief executive Mr Barclay Knapp said NTL was still on track to finish the restructuring around the end of the third quarter.

NTL reported first-quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of goodwill (EBITDA) of £177 million sterling (€275 million), compared with £159 million in the previous quarter and £86 million a year ago. Its EBITDA margin doubled to 28 per cent over the year.

A spokeswoman for NTL Ireland said yesterday that the Irish company achieved revenue of £14 million for the quarter under review, an increase of 40 per cent on the same period of 2001.

The spokeswoman attributed much of the growth to expansion in NTL's digital business, which is now available to 85 per cent of NTL's customers in Dublin, Galway and Waterford.

The group's results show that almost 16,000 customers had signed up for the service by the end of March this year.

"Overall, we're very pleased, but continual improvements are in the making," the spokeswoman said.

NTL filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early May as part of a $10.9 billion (€11.6 billion) debt-for-equity swap that will give bondholders control of the company.

NTL piled up the debt in an acquisition spree at the height of the 1990s technology boom.