On November 30, 2012, the Corporation's subsidiary, Cogeco Cable Inc., completed the acquisition of ABB, an independent cable system operator formed in 2003, serving about 495,000 PSU and providing Analogue and Digital Television, as well as HSI and Telephony services. The acquisition is an attractive entry point into the US market, providing a significant increase in PSU base with further growth potential, a high quality network infrastructure and the ability for the Corporation's management to leverage its core knowledge and operational experience. The transaction valued at US$1.36 billion was financed through a combination of cash on hand, a draw-down on the existing Term Revolving Facility of approximately US$588 million and US$660 million of borrowings under a new committed non-recourse debt financing at ABB.
(1) The indicated terms do not have standardized definitions prescribed by IFRS and therefore, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. For more details, please consult the "Non-IFRS financial measures" section.(2) Represents the sum of Television, High Speed Internet ("HSI") and Telephony service customers.Ranked the 12th-largest cable television system operator in the United States ("USA"), ABB operates cable systems in Western Pennsylvania, Southern Florida, Maryland, Delaware and South Carolina.
OPERATING AND FINANCIAL RESULTS
OPERATING RESULTS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Quarters ended November 30, 2012 2011 Change(in thousands of dollars, except percentages) $ $ %----------------------------------------------------------------------------Revenue 366,608 346,023 5.9Operating expenses 210,028 205,762 2.1----------------------------------------------------------------Operating income before depreciation and amortization 156,580 140,261 11.6--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REVENUE
Fiscal 2013 first-quarter revenue increased by $20.6 million, or 5.9%, to reach $366.6 million, when compared to the same period last year, primarily due to the Cable segment and the revenue generated by Metromedia CMR Plus Inc. ("Metromedia"), acquired during the second quarter of fiscal 2012.
In the Cable segment, fiscal 2013 first-quarter revenue increased by $12.5 million, or 4%, to reach $327.9 million, when compared to the same period last year. For further details on the Cable segment's revenue, please refer to the "Cable segment" section.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2013, revenue from the radio and advertising representation house activities improved by $8.1 million, or 26.5%, mainly as a result of the revenue generated by Metromedia, acquired during the second quarter of fiscal 2012.
OPERATING EXPENSES
For the first quarter of fiscal 2013, operating expenses amounted to $210 million, an increase of $4.3 million, or 2.1%, when compared to the prior year.
Operating expenses in the Cable segment decreased by $2.3 million, or 1.3%, when compared to the same period of fiscal 2012. For further details on the Cable segment's operating expenses, please refer to the "Cable segment" section.
