Comcast Corp reported on Tuesday slight growth in fourth-quarter profit as the biggest US cable operator benefited from robust performance of its broadband and business-services units.
The company reported net income of $1.93 billion, or $0.74 a share, for the three months ended December 31 compared to a result of $1.91 billion, or $0.72 a share. Excluding some items net profit increased 13.2% to $1.99 billion.
Comcast, which is also waiting for regulatory approval on its $45-billion acquisition of Time Warner, said it will lift annual dividend to $1 per share from $0.90, marking the companys seventh consecutive annual increase. Additionally, the company said it would spent $10 billion on stock repurchases, including at least $4.25 billion in 2015.
Revenue for the quarter came in at $17.73 billion, up 4.8% compared the $16.93 billion the company reported in 2013. In comparison, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had estimated revenue of $17.68 billion accompanied with per-share earnings of $0.78.
Revenue from the companys cable division increased 6.1% to $11.31 billion, representing more than 63% of the companys overall figure, driven by robust performance of its high-speed internet and business-services units, which reported growth of 9.9% and 20.8%, respectively.
However, Comcast said it only added 6 000 net additions in the fourth-quarter of 2014 compared to 46 000 during the same period a year earlier. Keeping positive net additions is important for cable operators as they are pressured by video streaming rivals and rapidly losing customers to them.
Meanwhile, revenue at NBCUniversal, fully owned by Comcast, came in at $6.61 billion, up 2.3% compared to last year. The company said it benefited from strong performance of NBCUs broadcast television unit, which stated a 4.8% increase in revenue.
The film unit of NBCU reported a 10.6% decrease in revenue due to lower ratings and strong comparable previous quarter, when the company gained on robust sales of Despicable Me 2 and Fast and Furious 6.
The theme parks of NBCU marked the largest increase across the segments with 29.9% to $735 million. The company contributed the jump to persistent interest towards the companys theme park in Orlando and its new Harry Potter attraction.
“We continued to execute incredibly well as we accelerated our innovation, launched new products, and brought amazing films, shows and theme park attractions to consumers,” said Chief Executive Brian Roberts.
Comcast lost 0.50% on Monday and closed at $58.21 on the NASDAQ. On Tuesday the stock gained 1.49% to $59.08 at 15:52 GMT, marking a one-year increase of 15.52%. The company is valued at $149.85 billion.
According to the Financial Times, the 21 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Comcast have a median target of $65.00, with a high estimate of $72.00 and a low estimate of $56.00. The median estimate represents a 11.11% increase from the last closing price.
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