Bolt helps Virgin sprint to new broadband high

An ADVERTISING campaign featuring sprinter Usain Bolt attracted thousands of customers to Virgin Media, with many opting for its fastest broadband speeds.

The firm said yesterday the ads helped it gain 21,200 cable TV subscribers and 146,700 broadband customers in the first quarter of the year, pushing its revenues up 2.4 per cent to £1 billion for the period. Operating profit increased 18 per cent on the year before to £131 million.

It said: “Demand for faster broadband continues to grow as we again saw around half of new subscribers taking superfast speeds of 30Mb or more.”

The company now has nearly 850,000 broadband customers, more than triple the number a year ago.

Virgin also increased its cross-selling, with 15 per cent of customers now taking its full internet, cable, TV on demand and mobile phone offer.

Chief executive Neil Berkett said: “Over the remainder of 2012, we expect continued steady progress which, combined with the underlying resilience of our business model, will translate into strong cash flow and shareholder returns.”

Virgin’s TV-on-demand service faces competition from next month, when the YouView system is expected to launch, bringing together online offerings from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4.

But analyst Patrick Yau, at Peel Hunt, said Virgin’s strong positioning meant investors can look forward to “continued operational progress” and an ongoing capital return programme.