Cablevision Loses $62.9 Million in the Third Quarter

By Richard J. Dalton Jr., Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Nov. 9–Cablevision lost $62.9 million, or 22 cents a share, in the last quarter, slightly less than the same period a year earlier, the company reported yesterday.

A year ago, the Bethpage-based telecommunications and media company had lost $63.2 million, or 22 cents a share.

The money-losing third quarter, which ended Sept. 30, comes after a second-quarter gain of $221 million, the first quarterly profit in two years.

But the company boosted quarterly revenues 11.2 percent, to $1.2 billion, for the third quarter, up from $1.1 billion a year earlier.

The revenue growth was driven by the video, voice and Internet services, James Dolan, president and chief executive of Cablevision, said in a news release. Those services hit $910.6 million in revenue, up 15.5 percent from $788.3 million a year earlier.

Cablevision said it posted the sixth consecutive quarter of subscriber gains.

Optimum Voice had the biggest gains, surpassing the 600,000-subscriber mark, triple the number from a year earlier.

Since September 2004, Cablevision also added 57,000 basic video customers (up 1.9 percent), 506,000 interactive Optimum digital video customers (up 38 percent) and 341,000 Optimum Online customers (up 27 percent).

Cablevision said it expects to add 1 million to 1.25 million new subscribers this year to its cable, Internet and telephone services.

“If you look at the subscriber numbers, they’re quite good,” said Matt Harrigan, managing director of Janco Partners, an investment banking firm in Denver. “Particularly on the high-speed data and voice side, their business looks quite robust.”

Cablevision’s networks, including AMC, IFC and WE, posted revenue gains, but other programming businesses under the company’s Rainbow Media umbrella had lower revenues, the company reported.

Revenues for Madison Square Garden, which includes MSG Network, the New York Knicks, the New York Rangers, Radio City Music Hall and the Madison Square Garden arena, jumped 22.7 percent to $135.2 million, up from $110.2 million a year earlier.

But MSG’s operating income fell to a loss of $15.8 million, a drop of $18.6 million from a year earlier, because of higher costs for unspecified player deals for the Knicks and Rangers and expenses related to Hurricane Katrina benefit concerts in September.

Also cutting into profits were increased interest expenses of $186.9 million, up 8 percent from $172.4 million a year earlier, which, Harrigan said, were because of conversion of a preferred stock issue.

The company also lost $20.2 million in investments, compared with a gain of $6.3 million a year earlier.

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