Virgin Media Q4 2009 results: continuing strong performance and positive outlook

20 July 2010

VMed’s Q4 results were again strong; the May 2009 price increases continued to lift revenue and operating cash flow, as expected

There are continuing grounds for optimism, including further price hikes, cost reduction and modest turnarounds at Mobile and Business

There was no news regarding content M&A, but a sale some time this year appears likely and should have a significant positive impact on the company’s financial position

Recent reports

A touch of decline: UK broadband, telephony and pay TV trends Q3 2024

28 November 2024

Market revenue dipped into marginal decline in Q3, as both ARPU and sub growth weakened, both partly driven by the continued altnet onslaught

Backbook pricing effects will be of marginal help in the short term, but new customer pricing competition is still fierce, and households are still cash-strapped

In the longer term, pressure from the altnets should wane substantially as their roll-outs slow and they consolidate towards a wholesale model (or fail)

Access report

Looking to consolidation: UK mobile market in Q3 2024

26 November 2024

Service revenue growth flat-lined at -1% this quarter. The operators’ year-to-date net adds remain in negative territory while the MVNOs have taken more than 1 million

The accounting treatment of the new, absolute, in-contract price increases will provide something of a boost to some operators this year, but worsen the trend next year, particularly for BT/EE

The likely Vodafone/Three merger will be the primary theme for the industry in 2025 and beyond, putting upward pressure on capex levels industry-wide

Access report

Book publishing in context: Presented to the FutureBook conference

26 November 2024

Compared to other sectors, books have seen real-term declines in the average selling price since the mid-2000s. If books had maintained pricing parity, the average selling price in 2023 would have been £12.11

The book-to-screen pipeline will likely remain strong despite the streaming content slowdown. Of the top 250 Netflix shows in 2023, 18% were based on books, and these shows accounted for an even larger share of watch time (21%)

In the online world, YouTube, TikTok and Reddit have supplanted the author interview in a bookshop or magazine reviews as vehicles for discovery, while the greatest risk associated with Spotify is that they lose interest (and investment) in the audiobook world entirely

Access report