Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) is the largest international cable company, with operations in 14 countries providing video, broadband Internet, fixed-line telephone and mobile services to its customers. Shares fell in the first calendar quarter after an influential Wall Street analyst downgraded his outlook for the stock, principally due to concerns over continued competitive struggles in Holland. Since that time, Liberty announced it would move its Dutch operations into a 50/50 joint venture with Vodafone, allowing Liberty Global to combine its strong cable and broadband businesses with Vodafone’s mobile offering to create a more competitive, “converged” offering. Share prices declined in the second calendar quarter due to Brexit. The pound fell roughly 10% versus the U.S. dollar on the news. Without any rebound this will depress Liberty Global’s future earnings, regardless of underlying fundamentals, as its largest operation is in the United Kingdom and represents roughly 38% of its cash flow generation. Management has already turnedits attention to reducing indirect costs, better integrating its various operations, leveraging its scale and operating more efficiently. We remain confident of continued growth for Liberty Global’s cable offerings and management’s abilities to deliver operationally.
From Weitz Value Fund's Value second quarter 2016 commentary.
