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Charter Communications (CHTR) Tops Q4 Earnings & Revenues

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Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR - Free Report) reported strong financial results in fourth-quarter 2016, wherein both the top line and bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimates.

GAAP net income in the reported quarter was $454 million or $1.67 per share compared with a net income of $130 million or 48 cents per share in the year-ago quarter (calculated on proforma basis). Quarterly earnings per share of $1.67 were significantly above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.06 per share.

Fourth-quarter 2016 total revenue of $10,275 million increased 7.2% year over year (calculated on proforma basis) beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10,250 million.

Residential segment revenues came in at $8,129 million, up 6.0% from the prior-year quarter. Within the Residential segment, Video revenues totaled $4,098 million, up 1.9% year over year. Internet revenues came in at $3,312 million, up 13.3% from the prior-year quarter while Voice revenues were $719 million, down 0.5% year over year.

Commercial revenues totaled $1,417 million, up 11.8% year over year. Within the Commercial segment, Small and medium business revenues were $891 million, up 13.0% year over year while Enterprise revenues came in at $526 million, up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Advertising revenues were $506 million, up 20.8% year over year. Other revenues came in at $223 million, down 2.2%.

Quarterly operating costs were $6,422 million compared with $6,163 million in the year-ago quarter. Fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) was $3,853 million compared with $3,418 million in the year-ago quarter. EBITDA margin came in at 37.5% compared with 35.7% in fourth-quarter 2015.

In the fourth quarter, Charter Communications generated $3,226 million of cash from operations compared with $611 million a year ago. Free cash flow in the reported quarter was $1,855 million compared with $80 million a year ago.

At the end of 2016, Charter Communications had $1,535 million of cash and cash equivalents and $61,747 million of outstanding debt compared with $5 million and $35,723 million, respectively, at the end of 2015. At the end of 2016, the debt-to-capitalization ratio was 0.54.

Charter Communications competes with AT&T Inc. (T - Free Report) , Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ - Free Report) and Comcast Corp. (CMCSA - Free Report) in the intensely competitive triple-play cable MSO (multi service operator) industry. Charter Communications currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Subscriber Statistics

Residential segment: As of Dec 31, 2016, Charter Communications had 16.836 million video, 21.374 million high-speed Internet and 10.327 million voice customers. During the reported quarter, the company gained 357,000 high-speed Internet and 39,000 voice customers but lost 51,000 video customers.

Average revenue per customer relationship was $109.77 compared with $108.22 in the prior-year quarter. Single Play penetration was 38.9%, Double Play penetration was 26.6% and Triple Play penetration was 34.6%.

Commercial Segment: As of Dec 31, 2016, Charter Communications had 400,000 video, 1,219,000 high-speed Internet and 778,000 voice subscribers. During the reported quarter, the company added 12,000 video customers, 34,000 high-speed Internet and 27,000 voice customers.

Charter Communications, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

Charter Communications, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Charter Communications, Inc. Quote

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