Kabel BW trebles profits

German cable operator Kabel BW has trebled first half pre-tax profit after benefiting from an increase in sales and operating profit, together with lower interest payments.

Pretax profit for the six months ended June 30 was €39m, up from €11m a year earlier. EBITDA increased by 22% to €149m, while sales were up 14% to €269m.

The operator said it had 2.31 million customers at the end of June, with about a quarter taking telephony and broadband services. It increased the number of internet customers by 590,000 in the first half of the year.