Comcast buyback paying off

Comcast (CMCSA) posted a decline in first-quarter earnings but matched Wall Street estimates. The Philadelphia-based cable system operator made $732 million, or 24 cents a share, for the quarter ended March 31, down from the year-ago $837 million, or 26 cents a share. On an adjusted basis, excluding certain unusual items, earnings rose to 19 cents a share from 17 cents a year ago. Revenue rose 14% from a year earlier to $8.4 billion, beating the $8.2 billion analyst estimate.

“Our performance demonstrates that our operating strategy is working in an economic and competitive environment that continues to be challenging,” said CEO Brian Roberts. Comcast lost 57,000 basic video subscribers, but added 494,000 digital cable subscribers. The company said 65% of video subscribers now have digital service, up from 55% a year ago, and 43% have so-called advanced services like digital video recorders or high-definition TV, up from 38% last year. The company also added 492,000 high-speed Internet users and 639,000 Comcast Digital Voice phone customers.

Comcast, which recently began paying a quarterly dividend for the first time in more than a decade, said it spent $1 billion buying back stock in the quarter. Comcast made $3 billion in repurchases last year as its shares fell, but this year the buybacks seem to have had the desired effect, as Comcast shares rose 6% during the first quarter.