NTL bundles together telephone, TV and internet services

During the January-to-March period, its losses from continuing operations narrowed to �62.6m ($118m), down from a �75.5m deficit a year previously.

The firm made a net profit of �456m, compared with a net loss of �65.4m for the same period a year ago, but this rise was boosted by a one-off windfall.

Analysts said NTL's long-awaited merger with Telewest was now moving closer.

NTL, which bundles together TV, internet and phone services, saw revenues for the first three months of this year rise 0.7% to �517.3m.

Irish sale

Its net loss was turned into a profit thanks to the disposal of subsidiary NTL Broadcast.

NTL also announced on Monday that it has agreed to sell its cable business in the Republic of Ireland to UnitedGlobalCom for 325m euros (�212m).

Analysts said this sale now paves the way for NTL's long-expected merger with smaller UK rival Telewest.

NTL and Telewest are thought to need to merge to be able to better compete against the market-leading pay-TV company BSkyB.