Cincinnati Bell tops 40,000 IPTV subs, sees Q4 revenue bump

Cincinnati Bell (NYSE: CBB) said increasing demand for its Fioptics suite of products and robust growth in its data center business in the fourth quarter helped mitigate the impact of access line loses on its wireline business, as subscribers to its recently launched IPTV product increased to 40,000, and data center business saw a 21 percent increase from a year ago.

The telco saw Q4 revenue increase to $365 million from $363 million a year ago, with full-year revenue coming in at $1.5 billion, exceeding expectations of $1.4 billion. Fourth quarter 2011 net income excluding special itemswas comparable to 2010 at $8 million, and diluted earnings per share excluding special items were also flat to 2010at 3 cents. Wireline revenue was $180 million, down 1 percent from a year ago, and data center income came in at $49 million for the quarter.

Cincinnati Bell said its fiber rollout passed 19,000 additional homes and businesses during the quarter, bringing the total number of units passed to 134,000. The company expects to pass approximately 40,000 additional units in 2012.

Wireline added 2,000 new Fioptics entertainment subscribers during the fourth quarter, or 12,000 for the year, bringing the total base to 40,000 customers. High-speed Internet subscribers using Fioptics increased by 12,000 in 2011, more than offsetting the decline in DSL of 11,000. Total high-speed Internet subscribers were 257,000 at the end of 2011.

"We finished off 2011 with great results that reflected solid execution across all our businesses and that once again enabled us to exceed all the financial targets we established at the beginning of the year," said Jack Cassidy, president and chief executive officer. "In terms of both revenue and Adjusted EBITDA, this has been the company's best year since 2003, and we are particularly pleased with the growth momentum of our data center business and the strong and stable performance of our legacy communications business."

For more:
- see this release
- see FierceTelecom's take

Special Report: IPTV earnings in the fourth quarter 2011

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