Liberty Global posted second-quarter net income of $24.2 million, or 5 cents per share, versus a loss of $114 million (31 cents) in the year-earlier period, AP reported.
The company’s revenue of $1.59 billion was up 46% from $1.08 billion in the second quarter of 2005, according to AP.
Losses from continuing operations grew to $184.3 million, or 40 cents per share, from $109.3 million (30 cents) in the previous-year quarter, AP reported. Liberty Global told AP the increased loss was driven by higher interest expense, income-tax expense and realized and unrealized losses on financial-derivative instruments, partially offset by higher operating income and foreign-exchange gains.
“Our success in driving bundled products, largely due to recent VoIP [voice-over-Internet-protocol] launches and strong broadband Internet sales, drove net organic RGU [revenue-generating-unit] additions of 363,000 in the quarter, and we are carrying excellent operating momentum into the second half of the year,” CEO Mike Fries told AP.
Liberty Global also announced that it will buy back a total of $1 billion of its shares via a modified Dutch-auction tender offer, which it expects to launch Friday. The company said it plans to repurchase up to about $500 million each of its series-A and series-C common stock at ranges of $22-$25 and $21.43-$24.35, respectively.
