General Cable revenue up 58%

General Cable saw revenues climb by 58 per cent to pounds 52m last year, as the company reached the mid-way point in its network construction. But losses climbed to pounds 21m from pounds 18.3m, or 8.1p a share, writes Mathew Horsman.

The company yesterday stressed that the results were expected, adding that it achieved "positive operation cash flow" in the second half of the year. The company's three cable operators, Cable Corporation, Birmingham Cable and Yorkshire Cable Group, saw combined network reach climb by 37 per cent, with strong growth in both residential and business telephony. Revenues per subscriber rose by 8 per cent to about pounds 153 a year.

Penetration rates were about 26 per cent for residential telephony and 23 per cent for cable, slightly higher than the industry average. Sir Anthony Cleaver, company chairman, said penetration rates were not an accurate guide to future growth. "The emergence of a host of new interactive services, such as the Internet, will substantially add to revenues in the future," he said.