Altice USA reported a loss of both video and broadband subscribers, resulting in red ink for the first quarter.
The company had 30,000 fewer Optimum broadband subscribers than in the prior quarter, compared to 19,000 net disconnects a year ago. The company finished the quarter with 4.1 million broadband subscribers.
In video, 78,000 customers cut the cord, the biggest loss in at least a year, leaving 2.1 million pay TV subscribers. Video losses accelerated from a year ago, when Altice lost 59,000 subscribers.
That left Altice USA with a $21.2 million loss for the quarter, or 5 cents a share, compared to net income of $$25.9 million or 6 cents a share a year ago.
Revenue fell 1.9% to $2.3 billion.
On the plus side, residential revenue per user (ARPU) increased 0.3% to $135.67 and business services revenue was $364.9 million, up 0.3%. News and advertising revenue rose 7.1% to $105.7 million, Excluding political ad revenue, news and advertising revenue was up 1.8%.
Customer-service calls were down by 1.7 million and the company had 235,000 fewer truck rolls.
"Our first-quarter results are reflective of the progress we are making to improve our operations and financial performance, which we are confident will set us on a path to achieve sustainable long-term growth,” CEO Dennis Mathew said.
“We are delivering quality and value to our customers by strengthening our networks, improving our execution discipline, enhancing our product portfolio, and accelerating local go-to-market strategies, and we are proud to once again report growth in our fiber and mobile customer bases alongside continued improvement across key operational and customer experience metrics,” Mathew said. “Our focus remains on driving profitable customer relationships and elevating network and service quality, all while maintaining financial discipline.”
