Ziggo reports Q3 profit decline
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Ziggo reports Q3 profit decline

Dutch cable provider Ziggo said it has recorded a decline in third-quarter core profits, despite winning a significant number of customers during the period.

Ziggo’s core profit fell 2.9% to €220.4 million in Q3 and the company spent double the amount on promotions and marketing in a bid to keep up with its rivals, compared to the same period last year.

In Q3, Ziggo added more customers for all of its services than in Q2, excluding its analogue TV business.

According to Reuters, cable companies are embarking on a strategy to phase out this service from their overall portfolios.

Ziggo shares rose 1.5% in early trading and the firm told reporters that it expected its revenues to increase by 1% in 2013.

Robin Bienenstock, analyst at Bernstein, said in a note to clients: “Ziggo posted strong broadband growth, and this could point to higher growth in the market overall.”

Liberty Global increased its stake in the Dutch firm from 15% to 28.5% in July this year, but Bernard Dijkhuizen, CEO at Ziggo, told reporters that it would be difficult for an outsider to gain full control of the company.

"We have a structure that in itself has a defence mechanism in there, which makes it less probable that any party does something aggressive which we don't want," he said.

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