Mediacom Communications managed to continue to squeeze profits out of its broadband business even as subscriber additions began to slow down in the second quarter, finishing the period with a double-digit increase in cash flow as revenue rose nearly 6%.
Mediacom reported $557 million in revenue in Q2, up 5.9% from the previous year, while adjusted Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization (OIBDA), a measure of cash flow, rose 15.2% to $251.2 million. It was the fourth straight quarter of double-digit cash flow growth at the company. Adjusted OIBDA increased by 15.2% in Q1 2021, 16.3% in Q4 2020, and 15.4% in Q3 2020, according to Mediacom.
Most analysts expect broadband subscriber growth to slow down across the industry as the impact of the pandemic wanes, and such was the case at Mediacom, where broadband additions shrunk to 14,000 in Q2, down from the 47,000 it added in Q2 2020 at the height of the pandemic. Video customer losses of 15,000 were lower than the 17,000 the company lost in Q2 2020.
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In a press release, Mediacom founder, chairman and CEO Rocco Commisso said the growth was largely due to the company’s decision to "transition to a broadband-centric strategy.
“Our streak of year-over-year revenue growth has now reached a remarkable 98 consecutive quarters, a testament to the perseverance of our dedicated employees in the face of numerous challenges encountered over the last 25 years,” Commisso continued. “Despite becoming a meaningful income taxpayer this year, we still managed to reduce our net debt by $232 million during the first half of 2021. Our lenders continue to benefit from our investment grade financial position, with Mediacom’s net leverage declining below 1.5x, the lowest in our history.”
