DirecTV Group Inc. reported Tuesday that its fourth-quarter net income fell 5 percent in part due to higher costs in acquiring customers, causing it to slightly miss Wall Street expectations.

The El Segundo-based satellite television company reported net income of $332 million (32 cents per share), compared with $348 million (30 cents) a year ago. Sales climbed 9 percent to $5.31 billion.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average expected net income of 33 cents per share on revenue of $5.32 billion.

DirecTV added 301,000 net new U.S. subscriptions in the quarter, the most in more than three years. That brought total U.S. subscribers to 17.6 million, 4.7 percent more than a year ago.

However, profits were reduced by higher marketing and customer installation costs, plus depreciation expenses on its installed customer equipment such as DVRs. Subscriber acquisition costs rose by $8 to $724 per subscriber.

“Despite the more challenging economic and competitive landscape, we remained sharply focused on attaining higher quality subscribers,” said Chief Executive Chase Carey in a statement.

DirecTV shares were down 36 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $22.22 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.