Liberty Global has swung to a third-quarter profit — its third quarterly profit in the past year after a string of losses. The company benefited from changes in currency values and growth in Western Europe.

Subsidiary UPC strengthened its operations in western Europe, has seen revenue grow as more customers subscribe to bundles of two or three services, including Internet and phone, and move to digital services.

For the latest quarter, Liberty Global reported a profit of $278.5 million compared with a year-earlier loss of $120.3 million. Revenue grew 16 per cent to $2.25 billion, partly due to the acquisition of Germany’s Unitymedia.

Operating margin rose to 19.9 per cent from 16 per cent as cost increases trailed the revenue boost. The company added 167,000 revenue-generating units during the quarter, a 46 per cent increase from a year earlier.

As of September 30th, Liberty Global had 17.7 million customers, up 32 per cent from a year earlier. Nearly two-thirds subscribed to only one service, although the number of customers using more than one service continues to grow.

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