MONTREAL – All of Cogeco Cable’s services, except digital TV, grew faster in the second quarter ended February 28 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to financial results released Wednesday.
Cogeco Cable added 13,961 net digital TV customers in the second quarter of 2007 compared with 24,547 in the same period last year.
Cogeco said the digital TV slowdown reflects a maturing of the digital TV segment following a period of robust growth. As well, the company adjusted the service offering and price gap differential between analog TV services and digital TV services in the second half of fiscal 2006, resulting in a moderation of strong growth experienced in the first half of fiscal 2006.
Cogeco finished the quarter with a total of 362,549 digital customers in its Canadian operations.
Cogeco’s basic TV base grew by net 5,277 customers to a total of 1.71 million, its high-speed Internet (HSI) service grew by 20,428 to a total of 392,443 customers. In the same period a year earlier, the company acquired just 3,505 new basic TV subscribers and 17,460 new Internet customers.
The growth in the high-speed and basic TV customers compared to the same period last year was attributed mostly to the “enhancement of the product offering, the impact of bundled offer of television HSI and digital telephony services and promotional activities.
The number of digital telephony customers increased by 24,467 to reach 103,398 compared with the addition of 9,569 clients in the same period last year. The growth was due mostly to the launch of the telephone service in new markets. Coverage of homes passed for the telephony service reached 74% in the quarter compared to 34% last year.
Cogeco Cable’s revenues increased by 57%, or by $84.2 million to stand at $323 million, while the division’s net income amounted to $3.6 million.
“We are exceeding our projections of last January. All our operating units are well positioned to provide a premium customer service and a very competitive offering,” said Cogeco President and CEO Louis Audet.
