While the economy battered most advertising-driven media companies in Q4, Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) reported a jump in revenue, fueled by rate increases and new internet and voice offerings. Revenue grew 9 percent to $8.8 billion, and operating cash flow grew 9 percent to $3.4 billion. EPS was $0.14 versus $0.20 during the same quarter in 2007 — the decline reflected a one-time $600 million impairment charge related to the company’s investment in Clearwire (NSDQ: CLWR), the wireless broadband internet provider. Some more highlights:
–Cable revenue grew 7 percent to $8.2 billion.
–Programming revenue was flat at $350 million.
–The company generated $864 million of free cash during the period, which led it to increase its dividend by 8 percent.
–Wideband (Comcast’s broadband-plus service) is now offered in 25 percent of its coverage areas.
The company added 290,000 net subscribers during the quarter and increased average revenue per video customer by 9 percent, driven mostly by more customers subscribing to multiple products. Some additional subscriber numbers for the quarter:
–23 percent of subscribers were three-product customers at the end of 2008 versus 16 percent at the end of 2007.
–Video subscribers decreased by 233,000.
–Internet subscribers increased by 184,000.
–Voice/Telephony subscribers were up by 344,000.
Transcript (via Seeking Alpha)
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