Charter Reports Quarterly Subscribers, Financials

Cable operator Charter Communications, in which John Malone’s Liberty Broadband owns a big stake and which has agreed to acquire Time Warner Cable, on Thursday said it swung to a third-quarter profit and managed to grow its video subscribers.

The company, led by CEO Tom Rutledge, reported earnings of $54 million, exceeding Wall Street estimates. That compared with a year-ago loss of $53 million. Revenue rose 7.2 percent to $2.5 billion.

The cable firm added 12,000 residential video subscribers in the latest period, ending September with 4.13 million residential video subscribers. In the year-ago period, the company had lost 9,000 residential video customers.

Overall residential customer relationships increased by 97,000 in the third quarter, compared with 68,000 such relationships in the year-ago period.

Rutledge lauded the company’s accelerating customer momentum “driven by our successful efforts to transform Charter into an organization that delivers outstanding products, service and customer value. He added: “Our operating strategy, which includes continued investment in superior products at attractive price points, with a highly skilled U.S.-based labor force, has accelerated our customer growth, leading to faster EBITDA growth and free cash flow generation. We look forward to applying the same strategy across our larger footprint, following the close of our Time Warner Cable and Bright House transactions, driving greater value for customers and shareholders.”