The acquisition of Cablelink for £535 million (€666 million) brings US-based NTL's subscriber base up to 1.8 million, the company's chief executive, Mr Barclay Knapp, has said. NTL said the acquisition will be financed in the immediate term from existing resources. The company has also secured a bridge debt financing commitment for the full purchase price and expects to close the deal within the next month or two.

Mr Knapp's comments were contained in a statement on NTL's financial results for the first three months ended March 31st last. The results - which do not include the Cablelink acquisition - show revenues of $313.3 million (£223 million), compared to $147.9 million for the same period last year. Net losses were $230.4 million.

There was a sharp rise in depreciation and amortisation - up from $45 million to $141.7 million, related mainly to acquisitions during the period.

The company said approximately 92 per cent of customers were taking both telephone and cable telephone services. It said the rate of churn was about 15 per cent - churn is where customers switch to another network. NTL said it reflected "seasonal experience".

NTL said a major development in the first quarter for its Internet and interactive services division was the introduction of TV Internet services via a set-top box that combined Internet access and telephony services.