DirecTV Revenue Climbs 17%

DirecTV DTV notched a 10% rise in first-quarter profits thanks to strong subscriber growth in the U.S. and Latin America.

The El Segundo, Calif., digital satellite-TV provider reported net income of $371 million, or 32 cents a share, rising from $336 million, or 27 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose 17% from a year earlier to $4.59 billion.

Wall Street was looking for a profit of 31 cents a share on revenue of $4.47 billion, according to a poll of analysts by Thomson Reuters. Shares of DirecTV were higher by 97 cents, or 3.8%, to $26.77. Competitors Dish Network DISH and Comcast CMCSA were also to the upside.

DirecTV said it saw net subscriber additions of 275,000 in the U.S., an increase of 17% from the year-ago quarter, due to 4% growth in gross subscriber additions and a decline in average monthly churn. In Latin America, net subscriber additions more than doubled to 200,000, driven by a 76% increase in gross additions, mostly from Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina.

The average revenue per subscriber, or ARPU, advanced 8.6% to $79.70.

DirecTV CEO Chase Carey said the company's board approved an increase of $3 billion to its share repurchase program. In connection with the decision, DirecTV entered an agreement with Liberty Entertainment LMDIA that will limit Liberty's voting power to its current ownership percentage of 48%, regardless of the number of shares DirecTV buys back through the repurchase program.

In April, Liberty upped its stake in DirecTV by 78.3 million shares, increasing its ownership in DirecTV to approximately 48% from 41% previously, prompting analysts to wonder if media mogul John Maloney would seek to acquire the company.