Multimedia Polska sees solid progress

Multimedia Polska – the Polish cable operator set to be acquired by Liberty Global – has posted revenues of PLN550 million (€126 million) for the first three quarters of 2016, up 4.4% year-on-year.

Adjusted EBITDA for the nine months was PLN253.8 million, with an EBITDA margin of 46.1%.

The number of services provided by the operator in the form of revenue-generating units increased by 5.2% year-on-year to 1.74 million. The company had 835,000 customers at that date.

The number of services per customer grew to 2.08 up from 2.06 at the end of the second quarter. ARPU for the third quarter grew to PLN70, up from PLN67.1 a year earlier.

The operator had 128,000 triple paly customers and 310,000 double-play subscribers.

Capital expenditure amounted to PLN169 million, including PLN125.4 million allocated to upgrading the operator’s network and PLN72.6 million in expanding the range of services offered.

CEO Andrzej Rogowski said that the results were positive and achieved in the face of strong competition in the market. He said that they reflected the operator’s strategy of expanding its range of services, including services not directly related to telecoms.

The Polish competition regulator, the UOKiK, recently decided to extend its investigation into Liberty Global’s proposed acquisition of Multimedia Polska because of fears that it could harm competition in the market, with the combined operator having over a 40% share of the market in some areas.

Liberty Global’s Polish unit struck a deal to acquire Multimedia Polska, the country’s third largest operator, in an all-cash transaction in October.