Broadband helps Time Warner soar
TIME Warner Cable surprised the market as it reported a 44 per cent jump in fourth quarter net profit and unveiled a $4bn (£2.5bn) share buyback programme yesterday.
The cable giant raised its quarterly dividend by 17 per cent as it easily exceeded estimates.
Revenue at the company, the second-biggest US cable provider, increased by four per cent, boosted mainly by an 8.6 per cent revenue increase from residential internet subscriptions.
Time Warner Cable is repositioning itself in the market as a broadband provider to attract internet users and make up for the loss of video customers it has lost to satellite companies such as Netflix.
The company lost 129,000 video customers in its residential business during the quarter. High-speed data subscribers increased by 117,000.
Residential services increased 2.6 per cent due to gains in high-speed data and voice services. The larger video services segment saw revenue edge up 0.2 per cent.