Cable group L iberty Global said its revenue increased by 3% year-on-year in 2014, with growth driven by the inclusion of Virgin Media in the UK and Dutch cable operator Ziggo.
Revenue reached $18.2 billion, with the 3% “rebased” growth reported after adjustments to take into account the impact of acquisitions and foreign exchange. Excluding these effects, revenue growth was reported at 26%.
In the final quarter of the year, revenue also increased by 3% to $4.6 billion, largely due to the inclusion of Ziggo in the last seven weeks of the year.
The company noted that its performance in Western Europe, which represented over 85% of its consolidated revenue in 2014, was led by Germany, where revenue increased by 6% in each of the Q4 and full-year 2014 periods.
The company’s operating income fell by 47% year-on-year to $273 million in Q4, while in the full fiscal year it grew by 11% to $2.2 billion. The increase in the full-year result was attributable to the inclusion of Virgin Media, while the Q4 decline was caused by increased impairment, restructuring and other operating items.
These items largely refer to the $222 million charge associated with the settlement litigation related to the 2011 acquisition of KabelBW in Germany. That case was finally settled this week, after Liberty Global’s German unit Unitymedia reached agreement with Deutsche Telekom and NetCologne.
Net losses for the year as a whole reached $695 million, which was an improvement on the $964 million reported for 2013. The company noted that the $269 million improvement in 2014 was mainly driven by positive movements related to its derivative instruments, lower income tax expense and a $333 million gain on the January 2014 Chellomedia sale.
Liberty Global is active in 14 countries including 12 in Europe. In the UK, subsidiary Virgin Media said on Friday that it plans to invest £3 b illion over five years to expand its cable network to 4 million more homes and business premises.
