News
Ireland division loses customers, reports lower revenue for three months to 31 December.
Virgin Media on Tuesday reported a 4.4% rise in fourth-quarter revenue, as growth in the U.K. offset a decline in Ireland.
The cableco generated revenue of £1.19 billion (€1.54 billion) in the three months to 31 December, compared to £1.14 billion a year ago. In the U.K., Virgin Media turned over £1.12 billion, up from £1.07 billion, while in Ireland, revenue declined 3.7% year-on-year to £67 million.
In terms of overall customer relationships, Virgin Media had 5.61 million at the end of 2015, up from 5.36 million at the end of 2014, as Q4 net additions of 54,800 in the U.K. offset net losses of 6,200 in Ireland.
Revenue generating units (RGUs) increased to 13.83 million from 13.62 million. Once again, Virgin Media U.K. added RGUs during the quarter – 126,400, driven by Internet and telephony connections – while Ireland lost 10,000, driven primarily by a decline in video users.
In the hotly-contested U.K. broadband market, Virgin Media ended 2015 with 4.69 million subscribers, up from 4.54 million at the end of 2014.
Virgin Media is in the midst of a £3 billion network infill programme that aims to increase its network coverage by 4 million premises by 2020.
The company said it added 250,000 premises to its footprint in 2015 and expects to add a further 500,000 in 2016.
The results were published on the same day that Virgin Media’s parent company Liberty Global agreed to form a joint venture comprised of its Dutch arm Ziggo and Vodafone Netherlands.
Vodafone and Liberty Global held talks last year about a broader merger of assets encompassing not just the Netherlands but the U.K. and Germany as well. However, as it stands, the companies insist that the Netherlands is the only market in which they are combining their operations.
