Credit: Shutterstock photoDISH Network Corp.DISH declared first-quarter 2015 financial numbers wherein earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate while revenues were in line with the mark.
Quarterly net income came in at $351.5 million or 76 cents per share compared with net income of $175.9 million or 38 cents in the year-ago quarter. Earnings also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 41 cents. Quarterly total revenue stood at approximately $3,724.2 million, up 3.6% year over year, almost in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,725 million.
Dish Network Corporation - Earnings Surprise
Segment-wise, subscriber-related revenues grossed $3,688.9 million in the first quarter, up 3.7% from the prior-year quarter. Also, in the quarter, Equipment and merchandise sales & other revenues totaled $22.5 million, up 1.5% from the last-year quarter. Equipment sales, services and other revenues from EchoStar added up to $12.8 million in the reported quarter, down 19% from the year-ago quarter.
At the end of the first quarter of 2015, DISH Network had approximately 13.844 million pay-TV subscribers against 14.097 million at the end of the first quarter of 2014. Further, the company added 14,000 broadband subscribers in the first quarter against 53,000 in the same quarter last year. At the end of the quarter under review, DISH Network had 591,000 broadband subscribers in comparison with 577,000 at the end of 2014.
Average monthly subscriber churn pay-TV rate in the first quarter stood at 1.65% compared with 1.42% in the prior-year quarter. Average revenue per user was $86.01 against $82.36 in the year-ago quarter. Average subscriber acquisition cost in the first quarter stood at $854 versus $862 in the first quarter of 2014.
In first-quarter 2014, subscriber-related expenses crept up 4.5% year over year to $2,162.8 million. In the same quarter, depreciation and amortization expenses were $246.2 million, highlighting a decrease of 1.2% from the prior-year quarter. General and administrative expenses were up 2.5% year over year in the first quarter of 2015 to $208.2 million.
First-quarter 2015 operating profit was $483.9 million compared with $446.3 million in the first quarter of 2014. EBITDA at the end of the first quarter stood at $848.6 million versus $695.4 million at the end of first-quarter 2014.
In first-quarter 2015, DISH Network generated $891.6 million in cash from continuing operations compared with $683.9 million at the end of first-quarter 2014.
At the end of the first quarter, DISH Network had $1,049.9 million of cash and cash equivalents and $12,240.7 million of outstanding debt on its balance sheet compared with $7,104.5 million and $13,746.1 million, respectively, at the end of 2014.
Currently, DISH Network carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Stocks to Consider
Better-ranked stocks in this sector include Comcast Corp. CMCSA , Liberty Broadband Corp. LBRDA and Verizon Communications Inc. VZ . All these stocks hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
