Comcast Q4 Profit Climbs 26%, Boosts Dividend; Enhances Buyback

(RTTNews) - Cable television giant Comcast Corp. (CMCSK, CMCSA) Tuesday said its fourth-quarter profit increased 26 percent from the previous year, as revenues improved amid growth in video customers. Further, the firm hiked its dividend and increased its stock repurchase program authorization. The stock is up over 3 percent in pre-market activity.

Brian Roberts, CEO, said, ''Our results highlight the momentum we have achieved and how we are benefitting from scale, our investment in innovative products, and from our focus on operational excellence. Cable's operating metrics improved across video, high-speed Internet and voice for both the 4th quarter and full year, with a return to video subscriber growth in the 4th quarter.''

Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, said net income attributable to the company increased to $1.913 billion from $1.518 billion in the previous year. Earnings per share advanced to $0.72 from $0.56.

Adjusted earnings totaled $0.66 per share, while it amounted to $0.52 per share last year. On average, 30 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.68 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenue increased to $16.926 billion from $15.937 billion in the prior year. Wall Street expected revenues of $16.63 billion.

Cable Communications revenue rose 5.2 percent to $10.661 billion, driven by increases in high-speed Internet, business services and video, partially offset by a decline in advertising due to lower political advertising revenue.

Combined video, high-speed Internet and voice customers net additions increased to 649,000 from 503,000 last year with growth in all three areas. The firm added 43,000 video customers during the quarter, compared to a loss of 7,000 last year.

Revenue for NBCUniversal improved 7.5 percent to $6.5 billion. With in the business, revenue from the Cable Networks segment increased 5.3 percent, reflecting a 7.8 percent increase in distribution revenue and a 4.3 percent increase in advertising revenue.

Broadcast Television revenues climbed 11.5 percent to $2.2 billion, driven by increase in advertising revenue due to strong primetime ratings at the NBC broadcast network, as well as higher retransmission consent fees and an increase in content licensing revenue.

The Filmed Entertainment segment increased revenues by 4.9 percent to $1.4 billion, driven by higher home entertainment revenue from the strong performance of Despicable Me 2, partially offset by a decrease in theatrical revenue.

Revenue from the Theme Parks segment increased 8.8 percent to $566 million due to higher guest attendance and increases in per capita spending at the Orlando and Hollywood theme parks.

During the quarter, Comcast paid dividends totaling $510 million and repurchased 10.8 million of its common shares for $500 million.

Further, Comcast said its Board of Directors has increased its stock repurchase program authorization to $7.5 billion. Comcast plans to repurchase $3 billion during 2014.

Additionally, the firm increased its dividend by 15.4 percent to $0.90 per share on an annualized basis. In accordance with the increase, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.225 a share on the company's common stock, payable on April 23.

CMCSA, which closed up 0.2 percent on Monday at $52.49, is gaining 3.3 percent in pre-market activity.