@Home Meets Street Expectations

Strong subscriber growth and a leap in revenues helped boost cable Internet provider @Home Network's third-quarter earnings.

The company late Tuesday reported a net loss of $9.65 million, or 8 cents a share, compared to a loss of $11.9 million, or 11 cents a share, a year ago. Those results were in line with analysts' expectations.

@Home's subscriber base climbed 43 percent to 210,000 from 147,000 at the end of the June quarter. A total of 10 million homes are eligible to receive @Home's cable modem service, bringing the company's market penetration to 2.1 percent.

Revenues soared to $13.8 million compared to $1.9 million a year ago. Revenues were also up 50 percent from $9.2 million reported in the second quarter.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, the company lost $115.8 million, or $1.02 a share, compared to a loss of $34.7 million, or 34 cents a share, a year ago. This year's results include a one-time charge of $83.3 million taken to cover the cost of stock warrants issued to cable operators in conjunction with distribution agreements.

Tom Jermoluk, @Home's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said the results confirm the company's belief that cable will be the best medium for residential, broadband access.

"@Home is uniquely positioned to benefit from and drive market momentum as our 18 cable partners upgrade their networks and more consumers are eligible to enjoy our compelling, content-rich @Home experience," Jermoluk said.