Represents Important Milestone in Company Turnaround Under New Management
GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., Dec. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Adelphia
Communications Corporation (OTC: ADELQ) today filed its annual report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003 with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, including audited financial statements for the years
2003, 2002 and 2001 and related disclosures concerning the company's results
of operations and financial condition during those periods. The Form 10-K
filing is the product of a massive 20-month effort, under new management, by
teams of accountants who combed through millions of ledger entries in order to
present an accurate picture of the company's past performance in the context
of its June 2002 bankruptcy filing and the filing of criminal charges against
certain members of the Rigas family and other former members of management.
"This filing is a major milestone for Adelphia," said Bill Schleyer,
chairman and CEO of Adelphia. "While the 10-K presents mostly historic data,
it provides the clearest picture yet of the challenges that the company faced
and the incredible amount of work that has been done over the last two years
to transform Adelphia's business, competitive position, financial reporting
and corporate governance."
Schleyer continued, "Under the leadership of our President and COO Ron
Cooper, the company's operational transformation over nearly two years is
nothing short of astounding. At the start of 2003, only 65 percent of our
customers could receive high speed Internet service and hardly any Adelphia
customers were able to receive high definition TV, video-on-demand or digital
video recorder services. Today, thanks to investment in the most advanced
equipment and systems, and an amazing effort by Adelphia's dedicated
employees, 95 percent of our homes passed can receive two-way digital video
and high-speed Internet service. Increasing numbers of our homes passed can
also receive high-definition TV, video-on-demand and digital video recorder
service. We have also completely overhauled our customer care organization,
consolidating more than 70 outmoded call centers into 12 state of the art
centers and repackaged our digital cable offerings in ways that are compelling
and simple for the consumer.
"In addition, we have adopted transparent, progressive corporate
governance policies and, since the bankruptcy filing, replaced our entire
board of directors with a new board where six of seven members are
independent," Schleyer added.
Said Vanessa Wittman, Adelphia's executive vice president and chief
financial officer, "The magnitude of the accounting challenge was stunning.
Our teams of accountants, led by Chief Accounting Officer Scott Macdonald,
rose to the challenge, investing tens of thousands of man hours to reconstruct
Adelphia's books and records from the ground up and restore credibility to our
financial accounting and reporting processes. We thank Scott, his team, and
our auditors for the huge effort that went into this project. This was a
vital step toward our overall objective to restore value to our constituents
through either a sale or independent emergence from Chapter 11."
Wittman added, "We are extremely proud of the significant progress we've
made at Adelphia, which is a credit to our employees, who have persevered
despite uncertainty about the company's future. While there is still more
work to be done, we are a vastly different company today and we have achieved
real operational and financial momentum."
As previously announced, Adelphia is conducting a sale process for the
company as a whole or in seven strategic clusters. At the same time, it is
actively pursuing the option of emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy as an
independent entity. The company is pursuing the dual track process to
determine which alternative is in the best interest of the company's
constituents.
A copy of the Adelphia 10-K is available for download at http://www.adelphia.com.
Investors should not rely on Adelphia's periodic and other reports filed
before May 24, 2002.
About Adelphia
Adelphia Communications Corporation (OTC: ADELQ) is the fifth-largest
cable television company in the country. It serves customers in 31 states and
Puerto Rico, and offers analog and digital video services, high-speed Internet
access and other advanced services over Adelphia's broadband networks.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This document includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements regarding
Adelphia Communications Corporation's and its subsidiaries' and affiliates'
(collectively, the "Company") expected future financial position, results of
operations, cash flows, process for sale of the Company, restructuring and
financing plans, expected emergence from bankruptcy, business strategy,
budgets, projected costs, capital expenditures, network upgrades, products and
services, competitive positions, growth opportunities, plans and objectives of
management for future operations, as well as statements that include words
such as "anticipate," "if," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend,"
"may," "could," "should," "will," and other similar expressions are
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are inherently
uncertain, and readers must recognize that actual results may differ
materially from the Company's expectations. The Company does not undertake a
duty to update such forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual
results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements
include those discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's 2003
Form 10-K and the Company's pending bankruptcy proceeding, results of
litigation against the Company and government investigations of the Company,
the effects of government regulation including the actions of local cable
franchising authorities, the availability of financing, actions of the
Company's competitors, results and impacts of the process to sell the Company
or its assets, pricing and availability of programming, equipment, supplies,
and other inputs, the Company's ability to upgrade its network, technological
developments, and changes in general economic conditions. Many of these
factors are outside of the Company's control.
SOURCE Adelphia Communications Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.adelphiacom.com
CONTACT:
Media, Erica Stull, +1-303-268-6502, or
+1-303-809-2959, or Investor Relations, Jeff Lawton,
+1-303-268-6419, or Mark Spiecker, +1-303-268-6304, all of
Adelphia Communications Corporation
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