Comcast lost about 82,000 basic subscribers in the first quarter, but
fueled by strong increases in high-speed data and phone customers
managed to squeeze out better than expected results.
Consolidated
revenue was up 3.8% to $9.2 billion and operating cash flow rose 3.5% to
$3.6 billion, in line with most analysts' estimates. In the cable
segment, revenue rose 3.5% to $8.7 billion and operating cash flow was
up 4.1% to $3.5 billion Fueling that growth was 399,000 additional
high-speed data customers (its best performance since the first quarter
of 2008) and 273,000 additional digital phone customers. Advertising
revenue increased 24% in the period and commercial services also
contributed to the growth, with revenue in that segment up 49%. Capital
expenditures also decreased 20.3% in the period to $925 million, which
helped boost free cash flow to $1.9 billion, a 38.1% increase over the
same period last year.
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