Charter Communications Inc.'s problems continue to grow, with revenue and
cash-flow growth coming up short of expectations.
The company offered "preliminary guidance" for its third-quarter results,
saying revenues increased 13 percent but operating cash flow just 9 percent.
Operating cash flow is about four percentage points short of expectations. The
company lost some 85,000 subscribers during the quarter.
Salomon Smith Barney Inc. media analyst Niraj Gupta said he believes Charter continues to
leave bad-debt customers connected way too long, keeping them on the books. He's
slashed his 2003 expectations for Charter, projecting just 5 percent revenue
growth and a 1 percent drop in cash flow. That would be terrible performance by
cable standards.
Charter plans to release full results Nov. 5.
