DirecTV Posts Strong Q1

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DirecTV Group Inc. reported strong first quarter results Wednesday mainly because of an increase in subscribers in the United States and Latin America. What’s more, customers in both regions spent more each month.


DirecTV reported net income for the three months ending March 31 of $371 million (32 cents per share), more than 10 percent higher than $336 million (27 cents) in the same period a year earlier. The results beat Wall Street’s expectations of 31 cents per share, according to Thomson Financial.


Sales for the El Segundo-based satellite TV provider rose 17 percent to $4.59 billion also eclipsing analysts’ forecasts of $4.47 billion.


The nation’s largest satellite TV provider said it increased subscribers in the states by 5.2 percent, or 275,000, bringing total domestic subscribers to 17.1 million.


Also boosting the bottom line was an 8.6 percent hike in average monthly revenue per subscriber to $79.70 driven mainly by price increases for programming, higher fees for HD and DVR equipment as well as better pay-per-view sales, DirecTV said.


The company added that it boosted subscriptions in Latin America by nearly 25 percent as monthly revenue per subscriber there rose 20 percent to $53.52, thanks to a weak dollar and growth in Venezuela and Argentina.


Shares in DirecTV added 4 percent to $26.81 in early trading Wednesday.

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