Comcast Sees Q1 Revenue Gains

On the heels of its acquisition of Sky, Comcast Corporation’s Q1 revenues were up 17.9 percent to $26.9 billion, delivering a profit of $3.6 billion, a 14-percent gain.

“Comcast is off to a terrific start in 2019, financially, operationally and strategically,” said Chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts. “In the first quarter, we delivered strong EBITDA and earnings per share growth, as well as robust free cash flow. Comcast Cable had the best quarterly EBITDA growth in over a decade, while NBCUniversal again posted favorable results. We also continued to strengthen our leadership position in valuable customer relationships and premium content. Now with the inclusion of Sky, we grew customer relationships by 3.6 percent year-over-year, including 400,000 net additions in the first quarter, reaching over 54 million relationships in total. Across all parts of the company, our teams are executing at a high level and collaborating to drive growth and innovation. I’m excited about this quarter’s results and the opportunities ahead.”

Revenues at NBCUniversal fell by 12.5 percent to $8.3 billion from Q1 2018, a period that included $1.6 billion of revenue generated by the broadcasts of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and the NFL’s Super Bowl LII. Cable networks were down 9.2 percent to $2.9 billion and broadcast television was down 29.4 percent to $2.5 billion. Filmed entertainment, meanwhile, grew by 7.4 percent to $1.8 billion. The theme parks were flat at $1.3 billion.

At Comcast Cable, overall revenues rose 4.2 percent to $14.3 billion, driven by high-speed internet, wireless and business services, while video, voice and advertising were down. The company lost 121,000 video customers in the period.

Sky revenues in the period were down 5 percent to $4.8 billion, impacted by currency fluctuations. This included $3.8 billion from direct to consumer, $370 million from content and $593 million from advertising. Total customer relationships increased by 112,000 to 23.7 million.