It was revealed on Wednesday that Comcast (NASDAQ:
CMCSA
) saw earnings go up nearly 30% in the first quarter on the
strength of its high-speed internet service. Not only that, but
the company saw strength over at NBC and Universal Picture. The
latter released two successful movies in box office terms,
including
The Lorax
.
The quarter ending March 31 saw Comcast's net income shoot up
to $1.2 billion, or 45 cents per share, from $943 million, of 34
cents per share, this time last year. Revenue came in at $14.88
billion, which represents a 23% increase.
All of that despite ongoing grumbles from customers about the
quality of the Comcast helpdesk. Because of the "regional" nature
of the cable industry, the fact that areas are only serviced by a
limited number of companies, consumers often feel tied in to
their cable company. Options are limited. Still, these results
represent a noteworthy achievement for Comcast at a very
difficult time.
"I'm really pleased with our start in 2012," Comcast Chief
Executive Brian Roberts said on Wednesday. "Cable had another
outstanding quarter.... We are starting to make some progress in
broadcast."
In addition, NBCUniversal revenue went up 18% to $5.5 billion,
though much of that can be put down to the $259 million brought
on by the incredibly lucrative Super Bowl advertising revenue.
Take that away, and revenue was still up an impressive 12.4%.
The Lorax
cost a whopping $70 million to make, and it broke even (almost
exactly) during the opening weekend. Since then it has gone on to
make $208,479,900 domestically, and $87,700,000 with foreign
markets. That's nearly $220 million of profit already.
There are more films to come, and the company will hope that
Battleship
,
Snow White & the Huntsman
, and a new Bourne movie will, if not emulate the success of the
very appealing
The Lorax
, at least make a healthy profit.
Cash flow at NBCUniversal was up 34.3% to $813 million
compared to this time last year. It brought in $2.1 billion vs $2
billion in 2011. The NBC broadcast unit pulled in $1.85 billion
revenue compared to $1.35 billion last year (though that number
does include the Super Bowl).
Film revenue came in at a huge $1.19 billion compared to $945
million in 2011.
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@BCallwood
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