Charter 1999 Annual Report Download - page 5

Charter’s commitment to customers is a key compo-
nent of the Company’s culture and will provide the base
for a growing company. Our tried-and-true model for
integrating acquired operations is built on empowering
local managers who make decisions close to the customers.
We support local operations with improved technology and
innovative marketing strategies to serve and build our
customer base.
SUCCESSFUL INTEGRATION OF ACQUISITIONS
As we acquire other cable systems, we increase revenues
and earnings by instilling Charter’s commitment to
high levels of customer service and financial perform-
ance standards. By carefully targeting acquisitions, we
create economies of scale. We continually bring together
contiguous cable systems — a process known as clustering —
which reduces duplication in equipment and personnel.
In late 1998, Charter acquired the Marcus cable
systems serving over one million customers. Prior to
Charter’s management, these systems produced flat cus-
tomer growth, 8 percent revenue growth and less than
5 percent operating cash flow growth. However, under
Charter’s management, those same systems produced
2.4 percent customer growth in 1999 compared to 1998.
This represented a significant improvement in perform-
ance compared to the prior year and was above the cable
industry average for customer growth. Revenue growth
and operating cash flow growth for those systems during
1999 increased more than 10 percent each. At the same
time, customer satisfaction was trending upward and
Charter’s relationships with cable franchise authorities
were dramatically improved.
A.THE FOURTH-LARGEST U.S. OPERATOR OF CABLE TELEVISION
SYSTEMS, WITH A DEMONSTRATED COMMITMENT TO SUPERIOR
SERVICE. CHARTER IS CREATING VALUE FOR CUSTOMERS AND
INVESTORS BY INTEGRATING NEW SYSTEMS AND BUILDING A
STATE-OF-THE-ART BROADBAND NETWORK.
1999 SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT 3
PAUL ALLEN AND THE WIRED WORLD
Charter Communications is a Wired World company dedicated to providing information, entertainment,
and interactive communications through the powerful technology of cable. The Wired World is the
vision of Charter’s chairman, investor, Paul G. Allen. But it isn’t only for visionaries and technical
wizards. It’s for everyone who watches TV or uses a personal computer (PC). In 1998, Allen invested
in Charter and entrusted to its management team the task of combining and integrating his cable
investments and building a communications company to realize the vision. Charter Communications
is our customers’ gateway to the Wired World.
“For over a decade, I have been pursuing a vision of a Wired World where everyone
would be interconnected in a global network, providing immediate availability to
information and resources anywhere in the world.”
PAUL G. ALLEN
CHAIRMAN, CHARTER
COMMUNICATIONS