Comcast: “We will emerge healthy from crisis”
April 30, 2020
Comcast Corporation has reported results for the quarter ended March 31st 2020.
Revenue for the first quarter of 2020 decreased 0.9 per cent to $26.6 billion (€24.4bn). Net Income Attributable to Comcast decreased 39.6 per cent to $2.1 billion. Adjusted Net Income decreased 6.1 per cent to $3.3 billion. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 4.9 per cent to $8.1 billion.
Broadcast Television revenue increased 8.8 per cent to $2.7 billion in the first quarter of 2020, reflecting increases in content licensing revenue and distribution and other revenue. Content licensing revenue increased 31.3 per cent due to the timing of content provided under licensing agreements. Distribution and other revenue increased 6.9 per cent, due to higher retransmission consent fees.
Advertising revenue was consistent with the prior year period, reflecting higher pricing and local political advertising, offset by audience ratings declines and reduced advertiser spending due to Covid-19. Adjusted EBITDA increased 29.6 per cent to $501 million in the first quarter of 2020, reflecting higher revenue, partially offset by an increase in operating costs and expenses. The increase in operating costs and expenses was primarily due to an increase in programming and production costs, which was partially offset by the favourable impact of adopting updated accounting guidance.
Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Corporation, commented: “Society is being challenged like never before in our lifetime, and I couldn’t be prouder of our company, our employees, and our leadership team across Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal, and Sky. Now more than ever the world needs to stay connected, and we’re extremely pleased that our investments in our network continue to pay off as we are handling significant increases in traffic and meeting our customers’ needs. While parts of our business have been more impacted by Covid-19 than others, we have continued to innovate. We are distributing our content in new ways, as evidenced by the recent launch of Peacock on X1 and Flex. We’ve also taken decisive action, having moved over 95 per cent of our US call-centre employees to work from home and putting in place new procedures that have allowed more than 15,000 construction workers to safely come back to work to build our theme park in Beijing.
“All the divisions of our company are in constant communication, and the level of collaboration has been extraordinary. We have a strong balance sheet, terrific portfolio of assets, and a world-class management team. This is a moment in time; and when it passes, I am very confident that the decisions we are making now will enable us to emerge from this crisis as a healthy, strong company that is well positioned to continue to grow and succeed,” he added.