Cablevision 2nd-quarter profit tops Wall Street's view; revenue rises slightly

Cablevision's second-quarter profit declined, weighed down by a higher income tax expense. But the performance managed to top analysts' estimates, and revenue improved slightly as it pulled in more money from cable customers.

For the three months ended June 30, the Bethpage, New York-based company earned $75.6 million, or 27 cents per share. A year earlier it earned $94.2 million, or 35 cents per share.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected earnings of 25 cents per share.

Cablevision Systems Corp.'s income tax expense increased to $78.6 million from $61.8 million in the prior-year period.

Revenue climbed to $1.65 billion from $1.63 billion, meeting Wall Street's expectations.

Revenue for cable — which includes its Optimum-branded digital cable television, high-speed Internet and voice services as well as Optimum Wi-Fi — edged up 1.8 percent to $1.48 billion.

The average monthly cable revenue per customer rose 3.8 percent to $158.52 from $152.72 a year ago.