Cable operator Comcast Corp., which has operations in Connecticut, today reported a 38 percent increase in third-quarter earnings as a sharp drop in capital spending and higher cable TV rates buoyed its bottom line.
Bucking the trend among cash-strapped companies, Comcast also said it expects to exceed its free cash flow growth forecast of at least 20 percent in fiscal 2008.
Brian Roberts, chief executive, said in a conference call with analysts that the nation’s largest cable company has adequate financial reserves to weather the current economic crisis.
“It goes back to my father’s life being truly changed by the Depression. He trained me always to be ready,” Roberts said. “We do not need to access the capital markets any time for the foreseeable future. We have significant free cash flow and liquidity…. That, I believe is a very enviable position.”
Still, the company, mindful of the tight credit market, said it won’t use all the funds its board has approved to buy back shares by the end of 2009. Instead, it will proceed more cautiously depending on market conditions. Comcast has $4.1 billion remaining on the repurchase program.
In the quarter, Comcast earned $771 million, or 26 cents per share, compared with $560 million, or 18 cents, a year ago. Adjusted net income excluding one-time items rose by 23 percent to $691 million, or 24 cents per share.
Revenue was up 10 percent to $8.55 billion. Excluding acquisitions, it rose 7 percent.
Analysts were expecting a 22-cent-per-share profit and slightly higher revenue of $8.59 billion, according to a Thomson Reuters poll. Shares of Comcast fell $1.28, or 7.6 percent, to $15.68 in midday trading giving back some of the 24 percent gains it recorded during Tuesday’s market surge. (AP)
