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Comcast Profit Rises on Digital Phone Subscriptions

Jul 27, 2006  •  Post A Comment

Comcast Corp. posted higher second-quarter profit after more customers signed up for the cable company’s digital telephone service.

Net income rose 7 percent to $460 million while operating cash flow, the primary measure of operational strength in the cable industry, rose 12 percent to $2.4 billion, the company said in a statement Thursday. Comcast said it plans to close its acquisition of Adelphia cable systems in the next few days and will test addressable advertising during the second half of the year.

Comcast, the largest U.S. cable television provider, said revenue rose 11 percent to $6.2 million as it posted the biggest second-quarter increase in revenue-generating units in its history. Operating income rose 17 percent to $1.2 billion.

For cable TV operations, revenue was up 11 percent to $5.9 billion and operating cash flow rose 14 percent to $2.5 billion. Comcast Cable added 227,000 new phone customers in the second quarter for a total of 1.7 million. Phone revenue rose 23 percent to $214 million.

“The rapid growth of Comcast Digital voice demonstrates its massive appeal and we are just getting started,” Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said in the statement. “As we continue to roll out our triple-play offer, we are now more confident than ever that it represents a meaningful engine for growth and a significant advantage over our competition.”

Advertising revenue rose 8 percent to $394 million in the second quarter, helped by political spending.

Revenue for Comcast’s cable networks rose 17 percent to $273 million, but their operating cash flow declined 35 percent to $60 million due to expenses related to OLN’s coverage of the National Hockey League.