Cox Communications Moves to a Loss

Updated from 8:21 a.m. EST

Cox Communications(COX Quote) Thursday said it posted a small loss in its fourth quarter, despite a sizable increase in revenue.

The cable company lost $11.3 million, or 2 cents a share, vs. a profit of $179.6 million, or 28 cents a share, a year ago, when the company recorded a $255.2 million pretax gain on its investments. Fourth-quarter results included an $875,000 in losses on investments.

On a conference call with analysts, CEO Jim Robbins suggested that Cox was not interested in going after a media content player, following Comcast's(CMCSA Quote) bid for Disney (DIS Quote) Wednesday. Cox has been in a high-profile dispute with Disney's ESPN over programming costs.

Revenue in the fourth quarter rose 12% to $1.51 billion, thanks to increases in digital cable, high-speed Internet access and telephone subscriptions and higher basic cable rates.

"Customer demand for the tremendous value of our bundled video, voice and high-speed data services drove strong growth," the company said.