Liberty Global 1Q loss widens on higher interest expense

Liberty Global Inc. said its first-quarter loss widened on higher interest payments and losses on derivatives.

The Englewood-based company's loss reached $155.6 million, or 45 cents per share, compared with a loss of $136.1 million, or 35 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a loss of 7 cents per share.

Liberty says revenue rose to $2.61 billion from $2.11 billion when it released results after the market closed Wednesday. Analysts forecast $2.56 billion in revenue.

The gains come as Liberty expanded its customer base 7 percent the past year with faster growth in broadband Internet and voice. President and CEO Mike Fries said the company had 24.4 million revenue-generating units of video, broadband and telephone services.

"When you look across our core metrics and value drivers, this was a strong first quarter," Fries said.

The company spent $910 million buying back 26 million of its shares and announced it would spend an additional $500 million to buy back $650 million worth of shares.

Liberty Global announced the results after markets closed Wednesday. The company's shares were unchanged in after-hours trading, having gained 22 cents to $36.34 in the regular session.

Liberty Global operates international cable networks, mostly in central and eastern Europe. The company has about 16 million customers in 15 countries.

Shares fell 56 cents to $35.78 at the open of trade Thursday.