Comcast Profit Rises as It Looks Beyond U.S. for Growth
October 25 2018 - 6:01AM
Dow Jones News
By Benjamin Mullin
Comcast Corp. on Thursday said net profit rose 9.3% in the third
quarter, as growth in the content and distribution giant's
broadband business more than offset a continued decline in cable-TV
subscriber numbers.
The Philadelphia-based company last month secured control of
European pay-TV giant Sky PLC for $38.8 billion, in a deal that
Comcast said would help it diversify its revenue base beyond the
U.S., where cable cord-cutting is taking a toll on the traditional
TV business.
Comcast reported a net profit of $2.89 billion, or 62 cents a
share, up from $2.64 billion, or 55 cents a share, in the
year-earlier quarter. Revenue increased 5% to $22.14 billion.
Comcast added 363,000 internet consumers in the period, up 70%
from a year earlier, but lost 106,000 cable subscribers, its sixth
straight quarter in decline. Broadband revenue grew 9.6%, while
video declined 2.9%.
Revenue at Comcast's NBCUniversal unit rose 8.1% to $8.63
billion, propelled by growth from its cable networks and broadcast
television businesses. Those increases helped offset a revenue
decline in the company's theme-park division, which it said was
affected by bad weather at Universal Studios Japan. The
profitability of its filmed-entertainment division was down
compared with the year-earlier period, which the company said
benefitted from the success of "Despicable Me 3."
This summer, Comcast lost a bidding war to Co. for Fox's
entertainment assets. Disney agreed to pay $71 billion for Fox's
famed Hollywood studio and international assets. If Fox had won the
September auction for Sky, Disney would ultimately have taken 100%
control of the British pay-TV company. Instead, Fox last month
agreed to sell its 39% stake in Sky worth roughly $15 billion to
Comcast.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 25, 2018 06:46 ET (10:46 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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