Cable television and broadband provider UPC today reported operating income increased 28 per cent to €162 million in the first quarter from €126.7 million for the same quarter in 2009.
In its quarterly figures, UPC's Colorado-based parent group, Liberty Global, revealed revenues of $2.18 billion, operating cash flow of $975 million, and revenue growth of 28 per cent.
In the Western Europe category, in which Ireland is categorised, UPC had operating cash flow of some $530 million for the first three months of 2010, a 42 per cent increase on same quarter in 2009. The company has 533,900 customers in the State, including 138,500 analog cable subscribers and 289,000 digital cable subscribers.
Earlier this week, the company announced it is to drop the NTL and Chorus names as part of a major rebranding exercise. UPC plans to spend €3 million over the next three months on a high-profile media campaign to publicise its rebranding.
This follows a €300 million-plus investment in the Chorus/NTL network over the past six years since they were acquired by Colorado-based parent group Liberty Global. This investment has seen the company launch a triple play offering of digital TV, broadband and phone services.
Commenting on the results, Robert Dunn, UPC chief executive: said "We have increased the number of services we provide to our customers by 53,000 over the past 12 months, demonstrating the benefits of our investment programme.
"Today's results show that our financial performance is accelerating as we move through our investment in broadband and high definition TV," he said.