Solid result for Numericable

French cable operator Numericable saw its net profit for the first quarter rise by almost half thanks to growth in subscribers and lower debt charges. 

Numericable added 70,000 subscribers in the year to March, representing growth of 4.3%. Multi-play customers were up 5.6%, while TV-only customers dropped by 15%. ARPU grew by 2.7% to €42.10.

Numericable posted a profit of €35 million, up 48%, on revenues of €327.6 million, up 1%. Residential revenues grw3 by 1.8% to €219.2 million.

The company confirmed its objectives for the next two years of growing revenue by between 2% and 5%, with an EBITDA margin target of 50% by 2016.

Numericable also said it expected its acquisition of SFR to close by the end of the year.