Charter Posts Loss on Charges

Charter Communications Inc., one of the nation’s largest cable TV operators, said Thursday that it lost nearly $3.3 billion in the third quarter, largely because of a big charge to reflect the decreased value of some of its assets.

The company also said it might need extra funding to repay debt maturing in 2005 and 2006. Charter said it was working with its financial advisors to address those funding requirements but added, “There can be no assurance that such funding will be available to us.”

The loss for the July-through-September quarter amounted to $10.89 a share, contrasted with a profit of $36 million, or 7 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 3% to $1.25 billion from $1.21 billion a year earlier.

Charter, controlled by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen, took a $2.4-billion charge in the latest quarter to reflect the reduced value of its assets.

Its latest results also reflected a $765-million charge for the cumulative effect of an accounting change.

Charter, which serves about 6.3 million customers in 37 states including California, had debt of $18.5 billion at the end of September.

The business has about 6 million cable customers, 1.8 million high-speed data customers and about 40,000 receiving telephone service, said Dave Mack, Charter’s director of corporate communications.

The company added about 108,000 residential high-speed data customers during the quarter and about 378,000 in the last year.

In the first nine months of the year, Charter lost $4 billion, or $13.38 a share, compared with $184 million, or 62 cents, a year earlier after paying preferred stock dividends. Revenue rose to $3.7 billion from $3.6 billion.

Shares of Charter fell 14 cents Thursday to $2.53 on Nasdaq.