Liberty Global reported improving commercial trends in Q1, with a return to organic revenue growth of 0.2 percent and a strong increase in broadband subscribers. Adjusted free cash flow more than doubled to USD 93 million, and the company maintained its outlook for an increase to USD 1.35 billion in the full year.
Net fixed customers additions moved to a positive 38,000 from a loss of 18,900 a year ago, taking the total customer base to 10.1 million. This was led by a return to growth in Switzerland (+4,400) following the relaunch of Sunrise UPC in March, and strong growth at Virgin Media in the UK (+31,000) despite a price increase in the quarter.
Liberty Global said growth was supported by a growing penetration of FMC bundles, which reached 29.3 percent of customers, up 3.0 percent points from a year ago. It added nearly 80,000 broadband subscribers in Q1, while TV customers were down by almost 37,000. The total number of RGUs fell by 17,300 to just over 26 million. Mobile subscribers rose by 94,200 to 8.6 million.
Reported revenue jumped 25.7 percent year-on-year to USD 3.6 billion thanks to the takeover of Sunrise. Liberty Global estimates the Covid crisis took 0.6 percent off organic revenue, due to reduced roaming and usage. Adjusted EBITDA rose 18.9 percent to USD 1.4 billion, but was down 1.7 percent on an organic basis, due in part to the timing of sports costs. Net earnings rose to USD 1.4 billion from USD 1.0 billion, impacted by non-cash valuation gains.
Operating free cash flow increased 25.2 percent, or 5.0 percent on an organic basis, to USD 621 million. Liberty Global spent EUR 747 million on capital expenditure, up 14 percent year-on-year, but down 6.5 percent on an organic basis. That included network expansion to 113,000 new homes during the quarter. As a percentage of revenue, capex dropped to 20.7 percent from 22.8 a year ago.
The group spent USD 447 million buying back shares through 30 April and said it plans to continue the buyback. Net leverage reached 5.1x at the end of March, and liquidity totaled USD 5.8 billion.
The company said it's on track to close the merger of Virgin Media and O2 UK in June.
