Charter posts narrower loss for 1Q

Posted 1:20PM on Monday 29th April 2002 ( 23 years ago )

ST. LOUIS - Charter Communications Inc. reported Monday a narrower first-quarter net loss and said revenue and operating cash flow exceeded its expectations. The St. Louis-based provider of broadband communications reported a net loss of $174.2 million, or 59 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $280.7 million, or $1.20 a share, a year earlier. The latest per-share loss includes the effect of preferred dividends. The smaller loss was due in large part to an accounting change, effective at the beginning of this year, that eliminated the hefty goodwill amortization charges Charter had previously taken. Year-earlier results included a goodwill charge of $316.4 million. Revenue, meanwhile, rose 13 percent to $1.08 billion from $953.1 million pro forma revenue a year earlier. Pro forma results reflect acquisitions and dispositions closed during 2002 and 2001 as if they had occurred one year before their closing date. Operating cash flow, a measure the cable-television industry uses to gauge a cable company's financial health, rose 10 percent to $449.2 million from pro forma operating cash flow of $406.9 million a year earlier. "Our revenue and cash flow for the quarter exceeded the high end of our expectations and will provide a solid base of growth which we expect to accelerate throughout the year," Carl Vogel, president and chief executive, said in a statement. Charter currently serves about seven million customers in 40 states, providing cable television and high-speed Internet access to homes as well as commercial services. "Demand for our high-speed Internet service has been phenomenal," Vogel said. "With the majority of our high-speed data customers now on Charter-owned and operated systems, we're focusing our efforts on marketing as well as margin improvement," he added. "We're confident there will be continued consumer demand for this product throughout the year." The company expects second-quarter revenue of $1.145 billion to $1.155 billion and operating cash flow of between $500 million and $505 million. Charter expects to add 275,000 to 300,000 RGUs -- or basic, digital and cable-modem customers -- in the quarter. For the full year 2002, Charter estimates revenue of $4.6 billion to $4.7 billion and annual operating cash flow of $2.035 billion to $2.07 billion. For the previous fiscal year, Charter posted revenue of $3.95 billion and operating cash flow of $1.83 billion before special charges. The company expects to add 1.1 million to 1.2 million RGUs during 2002. Shares of Charter were at $8.65 Monday afternoon on the Nasdaq Stock Market, up 94 cents, or 12.2 percent.

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