Comcast 1st-qtr profit up 6 pct on new customers, especially in digital cable, phone, Internet

Comcast 1Q profit up 6 percent on new customers

PHILADELPHIA — The nation’s largest cable TV provider is reporting a 6 percent jump in first-quarter earnings.

Comcast Corp. said it signed up throngs of new customers for its digital cable, phone and high-speed Internet services.

The Philadelphia-based company earned $772 million, or 27 cents per share, in the quarter. That beat the expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who were expecting 23 cents per share.

Revenue rose by 5 percent to $8.84 billion, also ahead of analyst forecasts for $8.76 billion.

Comcast said cost-conscious consumers pulled back somewhat on pay-per-view purchases and watched more free video on demand in the quarter. But Comcast says there weren’t big cancellations of premium channels such as HBO or Showtime.