LONDON (Reuters) – British broadband and mobile operator Virgin Media O2 losses included 118,400 mobile contract customers in the second quarter. This drop reflects weakness in the top-end market, where innovation in new iPhones and competing devices has slowed.
The company, jointly owned by Liberty Global and Telefonica, said it now had 15.9 million customers on monthly contracts. #VirginMediaO2Losses
Virgin Media O2 losses included a 13,600 decline in its fixed-line customer base. However, growth in the fibre network expansion largely offset these losses.
Chief Executive Lutz Schüler said the group had continued to invest in its networks and services despite a tough trading environment.
“Our fibre deployment has gathered significant pace, with the Virgin Media O2 fibre footprint now hitting 5 million premises as we push forward towards creating the UK’s largest national fibre challenger,” he said in a statement.
BT, VM O2’s larger rival, said on Thursday its Openreach networks arm had lost 196,000 broadband customers in the quarter as more defected to competitors.
Price rise helped VM O2’s average revenue per user on its fixed network rise by 3.1% to 48.49 pounds ($62.40) a month, it said on Friday. #VirginMediaO2Losses
Revenue in the quarter fell 1.4% year-on-year to 2.7 billion pounds, driven by the weak mobile handset market, while adjusted core earnings fell 1.6% to 998 million pounds.
