Comcast Q2 Profit Declines, But Results Beat View

(RTTNews) - Cable television giant Comcast Corp. (CMCSA, CMCSK) on Wednesday reported a 5 percent decline in profit for the second quarter from last year as higher revenues at its Cable Communications segment were offset by an increase in expenses. However, both revenue and adjusted earnings per share for the quarter beat analysts' estimates.

Attributable net income for the second quarter declined to $2.03 billion or $0.83 per share from $2.14 billion or $0.84 per share in the year-ago period.

Adjusted earnings per share for the quarter were $0.83, compared to $0.84 last year. On average, 25 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.81 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenue for the quarter increased 2.8 percent to $19.27 billion from $18.74 billion in the prior year. Analysts expected revenues of $19.00 billion.

Cable Communications revenue grew 6 percent to $12.4 billion, driven primarily by increases in high-speed Internet, business services, and video revenue. Revenue for NBCUniversal decreased 1.8 percent to $7.1 billion.

The company's customer relationships increased by 115,000 to 28.1 million in the quarter, an 83,000 improvement compared to the increase in the year-ago period. This primarily reflects increases in double and triple product relationships.

Video customer net losses for the quarter were 4,000, the best result for a second quarter in over 10 years, and compared to net losses of 69,000 a year ago. High-Speed Internet customers increased by 220,000, the best result for a second quarter in eight years.