Altice Q2 lifted by US cable purchases
August 9, 2016
Multinational cable, fibre, telecommunications, contents and media company Altice has reported its Q2 core earnings rose as growth in the US and Portugal offset a slowdown in France, where it continued to lose subscribers.
The telco, owed by billionaire Patrick Drahi, reported a 2.7 per cent rise in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to €2.27 billion from a year earlier.
Q2 revenue fell 2.6 per cent to €5.83 billion from a year earlier, hit by a renewed price war in France.
“It has been another commercially challenging quarter for SFR in France but we are confident the revenue and adjusted EBITDA trends will continue to improve,” commented Altice Chief Executive Michel Combes. Altice-owned SFR is the second-largest telecom operator in France.
In the US, Suddenlink Communications posted a 16 per cent increase in adjusted EBITDA to €258 million during the second quarter, its second full quarter under Altice control. Suddenlink’s revenue rose 3 per cent to €566 million.
Cablevision, which Altice purchased in June, saw its adjusted Ebitda rise 8.7 pr cent in the quarter to €471 million, while revenue fell 1 per cent to €1.43 billion. Altice merged Cablevision with Suddenlink in June to form Altice USA.
The company said its Portuguese unit’s adjusted EBITDA rose 23 per cent in the quarter.
The company, which kept its forecasts for the year, is currently in talks with potential buyers to sell its Belgium unit, according to Altice President Dexter Goei.
The company, which has been on an acquisition spree in recent years, again has said that it would use 2016 to integrate its assets and focus on improving the operational performance of its businesses.