Fitch affirms Mediacom

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed the B issuer default ratings of Mediacom Communications Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiaries Mediacom LLC and Mediacom Broadband LLC; Mediacom's CCC+/RR6 senior unsecured debt rating and BB/RR1 senior secured debt rating; and Mediacom Broadband's B-/RR5 senior unsecured debt rating and BB/RR1 senior secured debt rating.

The outlook is stable.

The agency said the ratings reflect Mediacom's relatively high leverage and an operating profile that continues to lag behind comparable cable multiple system operators. While Mediacom has been successful with growing its revenue-generating unit base and expanding average revenue per user, the growth has failed to generate the operating leverage necessary to strengthen EBITDA margins and grow free cash flow. From Fitch's perspective, Mediacom has struggled to find a balance between pricing promotion, product positioning and customer connection activity, which has contributed to its relatively weak operating performance.

The ratings are supported by a stable liquidity position and Fitch's expectation of further revenue and revenue-generating unit growth and service diversification coupled with a continued penetration of Mediacom's triple-play offering.

At the end of the first quarter, Mediacom's leverage metric on a consolidated basis was about 7.1x.

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