Revenues, Subs Up at DIRECTV

EL SEGUNDO: The DIRECTV Group has reported fourth-quarter revenues of $5.31 billion, a 9-percent increase on the year-ago period, with a net profit of $332 million, driven by subscriber increases at its U.S. and Latin American operations.

"Strong fourth quarter financial results capped the best year ever for DIRECTV in both the United States and Latin America," said Chase Carey, the president and CEO of The DIRECTV Group. Carey noted that revenues for the year were up some 14 percent to $19.7 billion, and net profit was up to $1.5 billion.

For the quarter, DIRECTV in the U.S. recorded an 8-percent revenue increase to $4.7 billion, with a 3.5-percent hike in ARPU to $90.46 The period saw 301,000 net subscriber additions, almost 10-percent higher than the gain recorded in the year-ago period. The platform ended the quarter with 17.6 million subscribers.

In Latin America, revenues rose 15 percent to $572 million, but ARPU was down 4.1 percent to $50.10, primarily as a result of unfavorable exchange rates in Brazil. The platform reported net subscriber additions of 160,000, for a total of 3.9 million at the end of the period.