Comcast released the fourth quarter’s fiscal results on Thursday that exceeded analysts’ estimates, both in the top row and the last.
Comcast also reported record net customer additions to high-speed Internet service in the fourth quarter, and an additional 11 million subscribers to its new streaming service, Peacock.
The shares rose more than 3% in the extended trades.
Here are the key numbers:
- Earnings per share: 56 cents adj. vs 48 cents expected, according to a Refinitiv survey by analysts.
- Recipe: $ 27.71 billion against the expected $ 26.78 billion, according to Refinitiv.
- High-speed Internet customers: 538,000 versus 490,000 expected net additions, according to FactSet
The company said that Peacock, under NBCUniversal, now has 33 million subscribers in the United States, up from 22 million in the last quarter. The company said its exclusive deal to broadcast WWE Network wrestling matches in the United States, announced earlier this week, is also expected to generate enrollment and engagement, along with the recent launch of “The Office” on the platform.
Comcast also increased its quarterly dividend from 23 cents to 25 cents per share. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said in the earnings report that the company also hopes to start repurchasing shares in late 2021.
The company released its best result ever recorded in the fourth quarter for the total customer relationship, adding 455,000 customers and reaching 33.1 million. Added 538,000 high-speed Internet customers.
Comcast said its Europe-based Sky division continued to add customers, up from 244,000 to 23.9 million in the fourth quarter. This brought Sky’s customer relationship and overall revenue in Europe back to pre-Covid 2019 levels, the company said.
The theme park division of Comcast, which suffered from the Covid-19 pandemic, continued to feel the impacts of continuous closings and capacity reductions. Theme park revenue fell by nearly 63% to $ 579 million. The company said the adjusted profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was a loss of $ 15 million, which included the costs of its yet-to-open Universal Beijing.
“Without these costs and better service in the parks of Orlando and Osaka, even with Hollywood closed, the theme parks have reached the point of equilibrium,” said the company in its report.
The company’s cinematic entertainment division was also hit by the pandemic, which restricted theater operations and ended some productions. The segment’s revenue decreased 8.3%, to US $ 1.4 billion. The company said this was partially offset by higher content licensing revenue. Its adjusted EBITA increased by more than 65% to $ 151 million, “reflecting lower revenue more than offset by lower operating costs – driven by lower advertising, marketing and promotion expenses due to a reduced number of launches in the previous year. . ”
The company said that the launch of vaccines brings optimism that its impacted business segments will grow again.
See how Comcast’s divisions fared in the quarter:
- Cable communications accounted for $ 15.7 billion in revenue, an increase of 6.3%.
- Cable networks generated revenues of US $ 2.7 billion, down 6.4%.
- Open television was responsible for $ 2.8 billion in revenue, down 12%.
- Filmed entertainment generated $ 1.4 billion in total revenue, down 8.3%.
- Theme parks generated revenue of $ 579 million, down 63%.
This is a developing story. Check again for updates.
Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.
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