Comcast Quarterly Earnings Up on Subscriber Gains

PHILADELPHIA: Comcast Corporation’s fourth-quarter revenues increased by 7 percent to $9.7 billion, delivering a net profit of $1.02 billion, up from $955 million in the year-ago period.

For the full year, meanwhile, revenues were up 6.1 percent to $37.9 billion, with a net income of $3.6 billion.

“I am pleased to report healthy results for 2010, marked by accelerating growth during the year and real strength in financial and customer metrics in the fourth quarter," said Brian L. Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast Corporation. "These results highlight effective execution in our residential, commercial and programming businesses, as well as the positive impact of a robust advertising market. Our results also demonstrate that our ongoing investments in technology and in products and services, combined with our focus on enhancing the customer experience, are bearing fruit. Now that we have completed the NBCUniversal transaction, we are uniquely positioned, with scale in
distribution and content, to drive product leadership and innovation even further and to expand the entertainment choices we offer consumers. We have the right strategic mix of assets, strong momentum and many opportunities to build value for our shareholders. To underscore our optimism in our new company, we are increasing the dividend by 19 percent and accelerating our stock repurchases to $2.1 billion this year.”

Cable revenues were up 6.9 percent in the quarter to $9.2 billion, with monthly ARPU gaining 10.6 percent to $133.43. As at the end of the year, the company had 48.4 million video, Internet and voice customers, a 2.7-percent increase over the previous year. Digital video penetration at the platform now stands at 87 percent, and 51 percent of digital video customers are taking advanced services like HD and DVRs.

In the programming segment, Comcast’s cable networks posted a 13.6-percent revenue gain to $419 million.