DIRECTV Delivers Q4 Profit

EL SEGUNDO: With revenues up 11 percent to $6.6 billion, DIRECTV emerged from last year’s fourth-quarter loss of $32 million to record a profit of $618 million.

“Our fourth quarter results capped off one of DIRECTV’s strongest years ever as we further extended our position as the world’s largest provider of pay television services with over 28 million subscribers in the U.S. and Latin America,” said Mike White, the president and CEO of DIRECTV. “Fueled by the best quarter in a decade with 667,000 consolidated net additions, DIRECTV added 1.9 million new subscribers in 2010 representing the second best year in our history."

White continued, “We exit 2010 with good momentum and look to build on that in 2011 with a strategy designed to maintain our industry-leading revenue and earnings growth. In the U.S., our strategy focuses on delivering the best television experience both inside and outside of the home, generating incremental revenue streams in key areas such as DIRECTV Cinema, commercial and local/addressable advertising, as well as capturing productivity improvements throughout our company. In Latin America, our priority will be to continue leading the market in HD and DVR services while introducing exciting new products and services that target the rapidly growing middle market segments."

DIRECTV U.S. reported $5.5 billion in revenues for Q4, with an ARPU that was up to $96.64 and an operating profit of $863 million. The platform ends the quarter with 19.2 million subs. At DIRECTV Latin America, revenues gained 23 percent $1.03 billion, while operating profit rose from $114 million to $185 million. The business reported 378,000 net subscriber additions to reach 5.8 million.