Charter’s first-quarter results were marked by improvements in both net video subscriber losses and net broadband subscriber gains.
The cable operator said it lost 70,000 video subscribers, fewer than half of the 152,000 it lost in the same quarter one year ago. The company ended the quarter with 15.55 million residential video subscribers, down 2.5% from where it was the year prior.
Charter added 563,000 residential Internet customers in the first quarter, significantly more than the 398,000 it added in the year-ago quarter. The company credited its network investments for maintaining quality of broadband service during the COVID-19 crisis.
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“Our ability to service existing customers with significantly more data, and install new customers at an accelerated rate, is a direct result of the commitment of our employees and the $40 billion of investment we have made in our infrastructure in just the last five years. Charter remains committed to delivering outstanding products and services, keeping the communities we serve connected, working and learning, and doing our part to help our country recover from this crisis. And we continue to invest in the next generation of communications technology and infrastructure that will allow us to service the future of connectivity,” said Charter CEO Tom Rutledge in a statement.
On today’s earnings call, Rutledge warned that upcoming quarters could be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and could result in slower subscriber growth.
Charter’s first quarter revenue reached $11.7 billion, up 4.8% year-over-year, thanks to residential revenue growth of 4.2%, mobile revenue growth of 85% and SMB revenue growth of 5.4%. First quarter adjusted EBITDA totaled $4.4 billion, up 8.4% year-over-year, and cable adjusted EBITDA totaled $4.5 billion, up 8.1% year-over-year.