Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries (pictured) said the multiplay media company suffered a “soft start to the year”, due in part to the performance of its mobile divisions in Belgium and the UK.

In its European investor call, Fries said the company was yet to experience the full synergies from its quadplay strategy, with the process just beginning in the UK and not fully developed in Belgium.

He added a decline in revenue from handset sales in the UK and a reduction in its prepay customer base in Belgium, as a result of new regulations around registering these users, hit its earnings during its Q1 2017.

UK mobile revenue declined 9 per cent year-on-year during the quarter, with a 7 per cent dip in Belgium. The two countries now generate 90 per cent of Liberty Global’s European mobile revenue following the separation of its Netherlands unit into a JV with Vodafone, which was completed at the turn of 2017.

 

Liberty ended Q1 with 6.4 million subscribers across Europe, a net increase of 18,200 during the three months, compared with an adjusted increase of 22,100 in the same period of last year.

“The European mobile business is clearly one that can come under pressure quickly and it’s not always in your control as and when [the issues] appear,” Fries said.

He added the company had to: “react to competition and be quick on your feet” in these markets.

Its Q1 2016 results were adjusted to omit data from its Netherlands Ziggo business, and reflect the acquisition of Base Belgium from KPN in February 2016.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, Liberty Global’s mobile business registered a net increase of 39,100 subscribers to 3.7 million.

Operating profit for its European businesses across all sectors in the opening quarter of 2017 was $431 million, an 18 per cent decline year-on-year. Its Latin American and Caribbean unit reported an operating profit of $138 million, up 130 per cent year-on-year.