NTL, the UK's biggest cable operator, says it is on course to emerge from bankruptcy in September on schedule.

Chief executive Barclay Knapp made the prediction during a conference call held to unveil narrowing losses for the three months to March 2002.

After bleeding $1bn after tax in the same period last year, the company shrank its losses to $600m this year thanks to slashed costs and lower depreciation expenses.

But growth this year is likely to be hobbled by the cash crunch enveloping the company.

In the red

NTL is still deeply in debt, having borrowed more than $17bn during the 1990s to fund a buyout of most of the UK's cable firms.

In May it filed for protection from its creditors in what will prove to be the largest corporate debt default in history once the deal is completed.

The plan is to split the company in two and hand control to its bondholders.

Its only remaining cable rival, Telewest, also has debt problems - not to mention a brewing scandal over the payment of six-figure maximum bonuses to its management while the share price tumbled from a high of more than �5 to no more than pennies.

But Telewest, too, said on Tuesday that trading was strong - a requirement if it is to retain access to its bank lending facilities.

By the numbers

In NTL's case, the focus is on squeezing more money out of existing subscribers, and revenue in the first quarter was $894m, up from $880m the previous year.

The reduced loss came from a sharp reduction in the costs relating to the acquisitions of the 1990s, as less and less goodwill has to be written off.

The charge for these items dropped by almost a half to $395.6m, with marketing and administration costs falling by more than 30% to $212.3m.

Capital expenditure, too, was lower, falling nearly two-thirds to $164m in the UK and Europe.