TORONTO, Dec. 5 /CNW Telbec/ - For fiscal 2006, Cogeco Cable Inc. (TSX: CCA) reported important customer growth thanks to a sustained addition of customers in its Canadian territories and to the addition of customers from its newly acquired Portuguese affiliate, Cabovisao - Televisao por Cabo, S.A., (Cabovisao). Thus, most performance indicators showed increases. For fiscal year 2006, consolidated revenue increased by $65.6 million, consolidated operating income before amortization rose by $25.5 million, net income amounted to $65.6 million, or $1.64 per share, and to $45.6 million, or $1.14 per share, excluding the impact of the income tax recovery.
Growth by business acquisition
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With the acquisition of Cabovisao as a contributing factor, the number of revenue-generating units(1) (RGUs) jumped from about 1,348,000 at the beginning of the fiscal year to approximately 2,185,000 at the end of August 2006. "The arrival of Cabovisao in our Corporation, with about 629,000 RGUs, is very promising. With the well-trained and enthusiastic people in Portugal, we are working to improve our position in that market", said Mr. Louis Audet, President and CEO of Cogeco Cable.
Customer growth in Canada
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In fiscal 2006, the Canadian operations reported continuous growth in all services. "We are in a very good position to sustain growth in Canada with more than 208,000 RGUs added to our base in 2006 as a result of the positive impact of our Digital Telephony service," added Mr. Audet. For fiscal 2007, Cogeco Cable is aiming to continuous improvement in attracting new customers.
2007 Customer growth in Portugal
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In Portugal, we expect to add more than 75,000 RGUs, essentially equally divided between basic cable, High Speed Internet (HSI), and Telephony. Revenue generated from the Portuguese operations should exceed $215 million and operating income before amortization should reach approximately $70 million.
"For fiscal 2007, all Cogeco Cable employees here and abroad will aim to increase customer satisfaction through improved customer service and enhanced product and service offerings. We will maintain tight controls over the Corporation's costs and we will work to continue to improve our business processes. With regards to our new Portuguese subsidiary, the Cabovisao integration plan is well advanced and we believe Cabovis¿o will contribute to the creation of value for Cogeco Cable's shareholders as early as this fiscal year", concluded Mr. Audet.
ABOUT COGECO CABLE
Cogeco Cable (www.cogeco.ca), a telecommunications company offering a diverse range of services to its customers in Canada and in Portugal, is the second largest cable operator in Ontario, Quebec and Portugal, in terms of the number of basic cable service customers served. The Corporation invests in state-of-the-art broadband network facilities, delivers a wide range of services over these facilities with great speed and reliability at attractive prices, and strives to provide both superior customer care and growing profitability to satisfy its customers' varied electronic communication needs. Through its two-way broadband cable networks, Cogeco Cable provides its residential and commercial customers with analog and digital video and audio services, high speed Internet access as well as telephony services. The Corporation provides about 1,556,000 revenue-generating units (RGUs) to approximately 1,477,000 homes passed in its Canadian service territory and 629,000 RGUs to approximately 826,000 homes passed in its Portuguese service territory. Cogeco Cable's subordinate voting shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (CCA).
(1) Revenue-generating units represent the sum of basic service, Digital
Television service, HSI service and Telephony service customers.