Cable giant Comcast--in the midst of negotiations with General Electric for NBCU--reported revenue and earning increase in the third quarter, due primarily to expense and capital management. The company said revenues were $8.8 billion for the quarter, up from $8.5 billion in the like quarter a year ago. It saw a 10.3 percent increase in income from its programming to $383 million.
Comcast reported earnings per share of 33 cents, a 26.9 percent increase compared to a year earlier, on profit of $944 million, compared to profit in last year's third quarter of $771 million. Free cash flow was up 20 percent to $1.11 billion; operating cash flow gained 2.7 percent to $3.33 billion.
For the nine months ended Sept. 30, Comcast reported revenue increase 4.3% to $26.6 billion and earnings per share rose to 93 cents, up 29.2 percent. Comcast said it also repurchased some 16.1 million shares of common stock for $250 million.
The company didn't mentions its ongoing negotiations with GE for NBCU in its earnings report, but reports earlier in the week suggest a deal between the two is close to being made, with Comcast to get a 51 percent stake in the company.
For more:
- see this release
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