CABLE operator ntl reported a five per cent fall in fourth-quarter revenues last night as it prepared to complete its merger with smaller rival Telewest.

Ntl, which has also made a £900m offer for Virgin Mobile, blamed the fall in turnover on lost contracts with AOL and Vodafone.

But the company, which has a call centre in Stockton employing several hundred people, reduced its annual losses as it increased its residential customer base and the number of people subscribing to its triple-play service of TV, telephone and Internet.

Telewest's fourth-quarter results were also boosted by an increased take up of triple-play.

The deal between ntl and Telewest is expected to be closed on Friday, but ntl declined to comment on a possible link-up with Virgin Mobile. It is thought that a takeover deal could be struck within the next two weeks.

Revenues at ntl fell from £512.3m in the final three months of 2004 to £484.6m at the same stage of last year.

That dragged full-year revenues down three per cent to £1.95bn despite ntl adding nearly 200,000 residential customers last year.

The effect of lost contracts and a fall in the use of fixed-line telephones was offset by increased take-up of broadband and digital television and the increased take-up of the triple-play package.

Ntl's operating losses for the year fell from £52.5m in 2004 to £19.7m last year. Net losses were £421m, compared with £484.9m.