“In the first half of this year, revenues were influenced by the exchange rate, which was unfavorable in 2009, as the national currency lost 15 percent year-on-year. Moreover, at the beginning of the second quarter of 2008, UPC cut tariffs for analog cable TV services by an average 30 percent, which translated into a natural decline in revenues from TV services in the first quarter of 2009,” the Chief Financial Officer of UPC Romania, Severina Pascu, said. According to the official, the decline was partially compensated by growth on the digital television, internet, and phone segments.
The financial report of UPC Holding, registered in the Netherlands, part of the U.S. Liberty Global group, cites intense competition, revenues, cash flow, and the lower-than-expected number of clients, as well as exchange rate volatility among factors that caused a new depreciation in the company’s intangible assets, of €84.7 mln in the first half of 2009, after a €107 mln depreciation in the last four months of 2008.
Fierce competition, especially on the Romanian market, worsened the decline in revenues on the video segment and that of revenues in general, as well as lower average revenue per user (ARPU). UPC’s main competitors are Romtelecom and RCS&RDS.
