UPC Ireland reported €65m loss in first year

The recently merged operations of Irish cable operators Chorus and NTL lost over €65m in its first trading year, according to local reports.

The combined entity, now known as UPC Ireland after Liberty Global took it over in 2007, began trading in October 2007. According to recently-filed accounts covering 2008, UPC Ireland turnover reached €240m with operating losses of €23.7m and pre-tax losses of more than €65m, including a €42m group interest bill and €99m worth of amortisation and depreciation charges. Chief financial officer Carol Grennan told reporters that the operator recorded earnings of €75m before all depreciation, amortisation and interest charges and that €65.5m of the depreciation went into investment in the network in Ireland, while €34.4m was a goodwill write-off due to the integration of NTL and Chorus.

UPC Ireland has reported better results recently, including revenue of €61.9m in the second quarter, up about €700,000 on the previous year.