As it attempts to recover from the effects of
Hurricane Sandy, Cablevision Systems reported a net loss for the third quarter and a small increase in revenue.
Cablevision's
net loss was $3.8 million, or 1 cent a share, compared to net income of $39.3
million, or 14 cents a share, a year ago.
Third-quarter consolidated net revenue grew 1.2% to $1.685 billion.
The
company said consolidated adjusted operating cash flow decreased 6.6% to
$503.8 million, and consolidated operating income declined 19.3% to $219.8
million, all compared with the prior year period. The company had a
$12.9 million favorable settlement with a voice carrier. A year ago, the company
also had about $16 million of costs related to Hurricane Irene. Excluding these
items, the company said consolidated net revenue would have increased 0.4%
while cash flow and consolidated operating income would have declined 11.6% and
28.3%, respectively.
Cablevision
delayed its earnings report because of Hurricane Sandy last week. "The effects
of last week's storm have had a devastating impact on residents in much of our
service area. As we report our third quarter results today, Cablevision crews
continue to work around the clock to restore service to our customers as
quickly as possible," Cablevision CEO James Dolan said in a statement. "Our
number one challenge continues to be Cablevision households without electrical
power and we are moving quickly to restore our service once power
returns. In addition, as of today, the vast majority of our Optimum Wi-Fi
hotspots are operational across the tri-state region and providing service to
our customers."
Dolan
added: "Looking ahead, we will continue to focus on our customers,
improving the products we offer and enhancing the service we deliver both in
the ordinary course of business as well as in times of crisis. We have
already made substantial progress on several major initiatives, including the completion
of our digital conversion and the further expansion of our Optimum Wi-Fi
network. We also strengthened our balance sheet and extended our debt maturity
profile through a number of successful financing transactions, which together
with our operational initiatives will help us to enhance shareholder value over
the long term."
Cable
quarterly net revenue rose 1.4% to $1.511 billion, principally due to continued
growth of high-speed data and voice customers and partially offset by fewer
video customers, the company said. Cash flow decreased 5.8% to $518.8 million
and operating income decreased 13.0% to $280.0 million. The cash-flow results
reflect higher operating expenses, primarily programming and non-executive
employee related costs.
Cablevision
said that during the quarter its total number of commercial relationships
increased by about 5,000. It lost about 10,000 video customers, but gained
28,000 more high-speed Internet subscribers and 22,000 more phone customers.
Average
monthly revenue per basic video customer rose 2.1% to $154.83.
Cable
advertising revenue growth of 12.3%, compared to the prior year period.
