Liberty Global (LBTYA) Q2 Earnings and Revenues Rise Y/Y
Liberty Global’s LBTYA second-quarter 2021 net income was $11.1 billion, up 2318% year over year.
Revenues increased 14.1% year over year to $3.1 billion. On a rebased basis, revenues increased 3.4% year over year.
Liberty Global gained 2,400 customer relationships in the reported quarter compared with 7,700 additions in the year-ago quarter.
Fixed-mobile convergence penetration increased to 34% in the second quarter, up from 24% in the year-ago quarter.
Liberty Global PLC Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
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Top-Line Details
Average revenue per unit (“ARPU”) per cable customer relationship increased 9.2% to $62.6. On a rebased basis, the figure declined 0.3%.
Mobile ARPU (including interconnect revenues), on a reported basis, increased 49.5% to $23.87. On a rebased basis, the figure decreased 6.8%.
Further, mobile ARPU (excluding interconnect revenues), on a reported basis, surged 51.8% to $20.10. On a rebased basis, the figure was down 0.1%.
In the United Kingdom/Ireland, Liberty Global gained 13,300 customer relationships compared with 22,900 in the year-ago quarter. The company benefited from strong demand for broadband bundles.
U.K./Ireland revenues, on a reported basis, declined 22.3% year over year to $1.10 billion. On a rebased basis, the same increased 4.4% year over year.
In Belgium, Liberty Global lost 6,300 customer relationships compared with loss of 2,900 in the year-ago quarter.
Belgium revenues, on a reported basis, increased 13.5% year over year to $774.8 million. On a rebased basis, revenues increased 3.7%.
In Switzerland, Liberty Global lost 3,900 customer relationships compared with loss of 16,400 in the year-ago quarter.
Switzerland revenues, on a reported basis, surged 176% year over year to $825.4 million. On a rebased basis, revenues increased 1.3%.
Continuing CEE (Poland and Slovakia) gained 2,600 customer relationships compared with 3,100 in the year-ago quarter, driven by growth in new build areas.
Continuing CEE revenues, on a reported basis, increased 12% to $130.2 million. On a rebased basis, the top line increased 2.99%.
Liberty Global built 70,000 new premises in the reported quarter including 38,000 in the U.K. during April and May.
Operating Details
Adjusted EBITDA increased 5.4% year over year to $1.25 billion in the second quarter. On a rebased basis, EBITDA decreased 0.3%.
U.K./Ireland EBITDA, on a rebased basis, remained flat year over year. Switzerland EBITDA, on a rebased basis, was down 3.1% from the year-ago quarter.
Belgium EBITDA, on a rebased basis, increased 0.6% year over year. Moreover, CEE EBITDA, on a rebased basis, increased 3.4% year over year.
Operating income was $565.5 million in the reported quarter compared with $526.8 million in the year-ago quarter.
Balance Sheet & Cash Flow
As of Jun 30, 2021, Liberty Global had $5.73 billion of cash, investments under SMAs and unused borrowing capacity.
Total principal amount of debt and finance leases were $15.4 billion for continuing operations. Moreover, the average debt tenor is seven years, with approximately 92% not due until 2027 or thereafter.
As of Jun 30, 2021, Liberty Global’s adjusted gross and net leverage ratios were 5.1X and 3.8X, respectively.
Cash provided by operating activities was $1.12 billion, down 1.6% year over year.
Moreover, adjusted free cash flow was $624.2 million in the second quarter compared with free cash flow of $455.7 million in the year-ago quarter.
The company bought back $765 million of shares through the end of July.
Guidance
For 2021, Liberty Global expects adjusted free cash flow of $1.35 billion, indicating 26% growth year over year.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Liberty Global currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Delta Apparel, Inc. DLA, Caesars Entertainment, Inc. CZR and PlayAGS, Inc. AGS are some better-ranked stocks in the broader consumer & discretionary sector. While Delta Apparel sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Caesars Enetrtainment and PlayAGS carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Caesars Entertainment is set to report quarterly results on Aug 3 while Delta Apparel and PlayAGS will report on Aug 5.
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