Long Island-based cable operator Cablevision System issued its Q2 08 earnings report this morning, showing stellar results virtually across the board. Cablevision reported a net gain of 6,000 basic subscribers and healthy growth in high-speed, telephony and, in particular, digital services growth.
The gains were all the more impressive given that Cablevision has supposedly been under stiff competitive pressure from Verizon, which has aggressively launched its FiOS triple-play services throughout Cablevision's service territory.
During the quarter, Cablevision added 120,000 net new digital customers, triple the net digital additions posted a year-ago. High-speed data subscribers advanced by 51,000 during the quarter, up slightly from the net gains during Q2 07.
The same dynamic held true for Cablevision's popular Optimium Voice Service, which added 81,000 net new customers during the quarter, on par with the net gains posted during the year-ago quarter.
Total telecommunications revenue (not including Cablevision's cable networks) rose by 9% year-over-year to $1.29 billion, while operating cash flow advanced by 13.9% to nearly $519 million. Another Cablevision metric that is spiking: the company's stock price soared following the release of the earnings, rising 16% as of 3:15 PM ET.
The surge in Cablevision's stock price could solve one conundrum company executives raised during an earnings call -- how to get Wall Street to recognize the company's operational strength. "We have a strong desire to close the value gap between our operating performance and the market value of our debt and stock," CEO Jim Dolan said, adding that the board is considering various alternatives to closing this gap. Among the ideas floated are the sell-off of Cablevision's cable networks, such as AMC.
(To download a spreadsheet that conveniently summarizes Cablevision's current and historical financial and operating data, please visit our corporate website. The spreadsheet is free but registration is required.)
Cynthia Brumfield at 3:05 PM|Comments(0)
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