Virgin Media is still recruiting new subscribers, getting them to sign up for more than one service and managing to cut down the number of people who switch to rivals.

"The Virgin Media brand sits firmly in the value for money rather than cheap category," said chief executive Neil Berkett. "And while I wouldn't want to be flippant about the recession, I am very pleased with the first-quarter figures.

"There are clear indications that customers are looking for value which explains why 57% of them now take their broadband, TV and telephony together from us."

The cable company, once known as NTL, added 7100 new customers in the first three months of this year. That was well up on the 4900 recruited in the same quarter last year and much better than analysts' forecasts it would actually shed 2,000.

Churn, the rate at which customers switch to rival services, dropped to a record low of 1.1%.

Berkett, who became chief executive just over a year ago, also claimed that the Virgin Media brand is now beginning to shake-off the dismal reputation NTL had for looking after its customers.

"We still have a long way to go, but compared to where we were a couple of years ago we are doing very well," he said.

Operating cash flow for the quarter dropped 4% to £312 million but the group swung from an operating loss of £2 million to a profit of £13 million.