Comcast Q1 Results Beat Estimates

(RTTNews) - Cable television giant Comcast Corp. (CMCSA, CMCSK) on Wednesday reported an increase in profit for the first quarter from last year on higher revenues amid continued strength in cable, high-speed Internet and business services. Both revenue and earnings for the quarter beat analysts' estimates.

Attributable net income for the first quarter rose to $2.13 billion from $2.06 billion in the year-ago period. Earnings per share rose to $0.87 from $0.81 last year.

Adjusted earnings per share totaled $0.84, compared to $0.79 last year. On average, 25 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.79 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenue for the quarter increased 5.3 percent to $18.79 billion from $17.85 billion in the prior year. Analysts expected revenues of $18.64 billion.

Customer relationships increased by 269,000 to 28.0 million in the quarter, a 36 percent improvement compared to the increase in the year-ago period, primarily reflecting increases in double and triple product relationships.

Video customers increased by 53,000, the best first-quarter result in nine years. Nearly 35 percent of all video customers now have X1. High-Speed Internet Customers Increased by 438,000, the best first-quarter result in four years.