Time Warner Cable 2Q Beats on Strong High-Speed Internet Sales

Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) revealed better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and revenue on Thursday led by strong sales in both its residential and commercial businesses as well as higher advertising.

The New York-based cable, phone and high-speed Internet provider reported net income of $452 million, or $1.44 a share, compared with a year-earlier $420 million, or $1.25.

Excluding one-time items, Time Warner earned $1.48 a share, ahead of average analyst estimates of $1.39 in a Thomson Reuters poll.

Revenue for the three-month period was $5.4 billion, up 9.3% from $4.9 billion a year ago, edging just ahead of the Street’s view of $5.39 billion. Sales were up 7.4% to $4.6 billion in residential services revenues and 28.5% to $464 million in its smaller commercial business.

Advertising climbed 17.8% during the quarter to $265 million.

Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt said the company benefited from “continued strong performance in residential high-speed data and business services, rising political advertising” and the company’s recent acquisition of Insight Communications.

High-speed data was led by a growth in subscribers as well as an increase in average revenues per subscriber, due to both price increases and a larger number of customers paying for higher-tier packages.

Residential video declined on a decrease in subscribers but was steadied by price increases, while voice saw subscriber growth but a decrease in revenues per customer.

Earnings improved despite higher operating expenses during Time Warner’s latest quarter, led by an increase of 11.3% to $1.1 billion in employee costs and higher video programming and acquisition costs.