COGECO digital cable up 26k subscribers in quarter to end-February

MONTRÉAL — Today, COGECO Inc. (TSX: CGO) (“COGECO” or the “Company”) announced its financial results for the second quarter and first six months of fiscal 2010, ended February 28, 2010.

In the cable sector, second quarter and first six months RGU net additions amounted to 68,782 RGU and 158,567 RGU, respectively, compared to 60,410 RGU and 113,124 RGU in the comparable periods of the previous fiscal year.

Canada

The Canadian operations’ net additions of 47,274 RGU in the quarter and 110,446 RGU in the first six months were essentially the same as compared to 47,577 RGU and 113,040 RGU for the same periods of the prior year, and continue to generate RGU growth despite early signs of maturation of some of its services.

The net customer losses for Basic Cable service customers stood at 54 for the quarter, compared to net customer additions of 1,955 in the second quarter of the prior year. For the first six months, Basic Cable service customers grew by 8,865, compared to 10,788 in the prior year. Basic Cable service net additions in the first half of the fiscal year were mainly due to the beginning of the school year for college and university students and to expansions in the network.

The Digital Television service net additions stood at 14,054 customers for the quarter and 30,160 customers for the first half of the year, compared to 18,693 and 36,913 customers for the three and six month periods of the prior year. Digital Television service net additions are due to targeted marketing initiatives to improve penetration and to the continuing interest for high definition (“HD”) television service.

Portugal (Cabovisão)

The European operations Basic Cable service customer base has begun to stabilize and reflect the benefits of the Portuguese subsidiary’s customer retention and acquisition strategies launched at the end of the 2009 fiscal year in order to reduce the customer attrition brought on by the difficult competitive landscape in Portugal and the economic environment in the Iberian Peninsula throughout the previous fiscal year.

For the three and six month periods ended February 28, 2010, net additions amounted to 21,508 RGU and 48,121 RGU, respectively, compared to 12,833 RGU and 84 RGU for the same periods of the previous year. Fiscal 2010 second quarter Basic Cable service customers decreased by 740 customers compared to a decrease of 11,908 customers in the comparable period of the prior year. In the first half of the fiscal year, Basic Cable customer losses amounted to 1,302 compared to 19,943 in the 2009 fiscal year.

The number of Digital Television service customers grew by 12,189 customers in the second quarter and by 28,303 customers in the six months ended February 28, 2010, compared to 41,193 and 46,590 customers in the three and six months ended February 28 of the previous fiscal year.

Cable Sector – Customer Statistics:

                                                                   Net additions (losses)              % of
                                                         Quarters ended  Six months ended    Penetration(1)
                                         February 28,      February 28,      February 28,      February 28,
                                                 2010     2010     2009     2010     2009     2010     2009
                                         ------------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------  -------
Basic Cable service customers               1,131,848    (794)  (9,953)    7,563  (9,155)        -        -
Digital Television service customers(2)       659,614   26,243   59,886   58,463   83,503     59.0     48.6

1. As a percentage of Basic Cable service customers in areas served.
2. The number of Digital Television service customers in the European operations of the cable sector for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 has been restated in order to conform to the presentation adopted in the Canadian operations. This restatement increased the number of net additions to the Digital Television service customers and RGU for the second quarter and first six months of the previous year by 34,784.

Digital Television service customers:

              February 28, 2010  August 31, 2009
              -----------------  ---------------
Canada                  528,558          498,398
  Ontario               346,003          326,227
  Québec                182,555          172,171
Portugal                131,056          102,753
  TOTAL                 659,614          601,151

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