KDG expects strong growth, dividend this year

German cable operator Kabel Deutschland (KDG) expects revenue growth of between 6.25% and 6.75% and EBITDA of between €790 million and €800 million this year on the back of its solid full-year results. KDG also confirmed that it would further extend fast internet services to another one million households over the next two years.

KDG reported revenues of €1.6 billion for the year, up 6.5%, and adjusted EBITDA of €729 million, up 10.6%. The company posted a pre-tax loss of €57.3 million, down from a loss of €14.3 million the previous year, thanks to one-off expenses associated with debt refinancing.
KDG said it expected to post a positive net result this year, and pay shareholders a dividend of at least €1.50 per share.

The operator added 579,000 revenue-generating units during the year, taking its total to 12.7 million, driven by premium TV, broadband and telephony sales. Overall customer numbers fell from 8.9 million to 8.75 million, thanks to the loss of ‘indirect’ customers served by third-party access networks. Premium (pay TV and DVR) subscribers increased by 17.8% to 1.264 million, and monthly ARPU rose from €12.35 to €13.40.