Virgin Media store. Image: Jason Batterham/Shutterstock
TV3 owner reveals how Q1 performance was underpinned by TV broadband and mobile growth.
Virgin Media’s Irish subsidiary has revealed Q1 revenues of €109m, an increase of 11.6pc on the previous year. The company ended the quarter with more than 1m cable and mobile subscriptions.
Virgin Media’s parent company, Liberty Global, reported Q1 revenues of $4.2bn (about €3.5bn), up 4.2pc on last year.
The earnings appeared just as it emerged that Liberty Global sold its businesses in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania to Vodafone for €18.4bn.
Diving into the figures, Virgin Media has more than 1m revenue generating units, including 438,200 cable subscribers, 372,000 internet subscribers, 355,300 telephony subscribers and 59,900 mobile subscribers.
Joining the dots on Irish fibre
Virgin Media Ireland’s finance director, Ewan Dunbar, explained that the company’s stealth fibre plan, Project Lightning, is continuing into the regions.
“Virgin Media’s multi-year network expansion programme, Project Lightning, is bringing Ireland’s fastest broadband and the best connected entertainment experience to more and more customers in towns and cities across the country,” Dunbar said.
“Virgin Mobile continues to grow, with customers enjoying great value, contract flexibility and the best smartphones on the market. Our focus on customer experience continues to drive momentum as we deliver the most innovative products and services in the industry.”
Dunbar said that the owner of TV3 and UTV Ireland also gained from its broadcast interests.
“Our broadcasting team in TV3 also delivered a very strong performance with a 15pc year-on-year increase in channel viewership and strong growth in advertising revenue in Q1.
“These impressive results were fuelled by an exceptionally strong programme schedule, including the NatWest Six Nations Rugby, Ireland’s Got Talent and extended news coverage of Storm Emma in early March.”
Virgin Media store. Image: Jason Batterham/Shutterstock
