Comcast This fall Earnings: NBCUniversal Revenue Falls 18%

Comcast’s fourth-quarter 2020 financials got here with some anticipated anticipated challenges beneath NBCUniversal as a result of coronavirus pandemic. Fortunately, the corporate’s conventional enterprise made up for a few of the difficulties on the leisure subsidiary.

NBCUniversal’s This fall income fell 18% yr to yr as TV scores declined and the rolling-out of a number of collection was delayed as a consequence of COVID-19 manufacturing shutdowns. Cable tv income slipped 6% from This fall 2019. Broadcast-TV (NBC) income declines doubled that on a share foundation.

To-date, streaming service Peacock has reached 33 million subscribers, based on Comcast.

On the movie aspect, “The Croods: A New Age” contributed what it might from a principally dwelling launch. There was *some* theatrical income kicked in from the Nov. 25 launch ($140 million worldwide at this level, based on Box Office Mojo), however total the corporate’s theatrical field workplace haul dropped 70% from the comparable quarter in 2019.

All informed, filmed leisure income declined 8%.

Universal’s theme parks income fell 63% because the Universal Studios Hollywood location remained closed and Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Japan operated at restricted capacities. Theme parks reached a “breakeven” level if one backs out the Universal Beijing pre-opening prices, Comcast stated.

Comcast’s cable-providing arm, which is the corporate’s largest enterprise, noticed income rise 6%. Comcast added 455,000 new prospects — its greatest fourth quarter on file — regardless of shedding 248,000 video prospects. High-speed web and wi-fi strains greater than offset the cord-cutting of cable-TV packages.

Wall Street had forecast This fall earnings per share (EPS) of 48 cents on $26.78 billion in income, based on a consensus estimate compiled by Yahoo Finance. Comcast truly reported adjusted EPS of 56 cents on $27.708 billion in income.

The reported total income determine was down 2.4% from the prior fourth quarter. Net revenue decreased 28.5%.

“Outstanding performance at cable drove very strong fourth quarter results for our company,” Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts stated Thursday in a ready assertion accompanying the monetary outcomes. “We added 538,000 net new broadband customers and delivered Adjusted EBITDA growth of over 12%. Our theme parks in Orlando and Osaka reached breakeven; and encouragingly, Sky returned to customer growth in all three of its markets, bringing our total customer relationships and overall revenue in Europe essentially back to 2019 levels.”

“With the vaccines rolling out throughout the world, we are optimistic that the parts of our business that had been most impacted will soon be back on a path towards growth,” Roberts continued. “This confidence is shared by our board of directors, which has announced an increase in the dividend for the 13th consecutive year. In addition, it is now our expectation that we will be in a position to begin repurchasing shares again in the back half of this year. While this is certainly the most challenging period we have faced, I could not be more proud of how our management team and employees continue to pull together and deliver. Today’s results are a testament to their commitment and dedication.”

Comcast elevated its annual divided by Eight cents to $1 per share this morning.

Comcast inventory (CMCSA) closed Wednesday at $48.42 per share. The U.S. inventory markets reopen at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Roberts and his fellow prime Comcast executives will host a convention name at 8:30 a.m. ET to debate the quarter and full-year 2020 in larger element.

Earlier this week, Comcast’s Peacock acquired WWE Network programming at a price ticket of roughly $1 billion over the subsequent 5 years. That could come up.