RCN added 12,000 triple-play residential and small- to medium-size customers in the recently completed fourth quarter, compared with the same quarter a year ago.
RCN said in its fourth-quarter earnings report that the additional customers helped boost the company’s revenues by 12 percent to $188 million, compared with $168 million in the year-ago quarter.
For the year, RCN’s revenue increased 16 percent to $739.2 million, while its net loss decreased 53 percent to $70.7 million – from a year-ago loss of $152 million.
RCN’s net loss in the fourth quarter was $13.1 million, which was a marked improvement over its $32.4 million net loss in the same quarter in 2007.
“RCN reached its financial objectives and made a strong push forward in operational improvements in 2008,” said RCN President and CEO Peter D. Aquino. “The completion of RCN’s Project Analog Crush in all five metro markets – Chicago, Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia suburbs – was a significant accomplishment. This major capital project, now behind us, freed up valuable video spectrum for 100-plus HD channels, a best-in-class international tier and hundreds of digital channels available for new programming.
“We enter 2009 with a solid liquidity position and a flexible capital program that, while reduced, will allow RCN to continue to compete effectively in this uncertain economic environment,” Aquino continued. “Our milestone financial goal for this year is to produce solid positive free cash flow through continued growth in our business units and a less demanding capital program. We remain focused on operational execution and on using our strong position to be opportunistic in business development to support our growth objectives.”
RCN said its expansion spending is slated to be approximately $120 million, which is about 5 percent less than the previous year.
