Insight Closes Comcast Partnership Book With Double-Digit Gains

[cablewithaview]

Revenue Climbed 14%, While Operating Income Improved 17% In 2007
By Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 4/17/2008 12:08:00 PM

In its final year melded with Comcast, Insight Communications rang up a 14% revenue rise and a 17% gain in operating income.

The cable operator, whose 50-50 Insight Midwest partnership with Comcast officially split Jan. 2, recorded total revenue of some $1.4 billion in 2007, up 14% from $1.23 billion in 2006, according to the privately held company.

Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization totaled $572.4 million last year, 17% above the $482.2 million in registered the prior year.

The Insight Midwest partnership counted 1.46 million customer relationships in 2007, versus 1.40 million in 2006, with total monthly revenue per customer reaching $88.85, versus $80.53 the year before.

A breakdown by segment types showed that Insight had 1.37 million basic-cable customers at the close of 2007, up from 1.32 million in 2006; 709,200, digital-cable subs, 87,600 more than at year-end 2006; 754,600 high-speed subscribers, compared with 611,000 the prior year; and 257,900 telephone customers, more than double its 123,400 voice sub base at the end of 2006.

Following the dissolution of the partnership for which Comcast paid $1.3 million at closing for its share of the debt, the nation’s largest cable operator gained control of systems in Illinois (Rockford/Dixon, Quincy/Macomb, Springfield, Peoria and Champaign/Urbana) and in Indiana (Bloomington, Anderson, and Lafayette/Kokomo) that pass 1.2 million homes and have about 696,000 basic video customers.

For its part, the remaining Insight Systems Group owns systems in Kentucky (Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green and Covington), Evansville, Ind.; and Columbus, Ohio; that pass a total of 1.3 million homes.

Insight reported that the latter systems finished 2007 with some 772,000 customer relationships, yielding 1.63 million revenue generating units, versus 1.39 million the year before. As previously reported, the cable operator stacked up some healthy gains in its various business lines, chalking up 34,600 new basic subs, lifting its total to 673,900 from 639,300. On the digital side, the sub base reached 380,600, 55,200 more than at year-end 2006.

The operator added 77,800 high-speed data customers, building its base to 386,000, while its phone customer count expanded 68,200 to 186,200.


Insight Closes Comcast Partnership Book With Double-Digit Gains - 4/17/2008 12:08:00 PM - Multichannel News