Comcast’s Profit Plunges By 69 Percent in Fourth Quarter

Comcast’s profit plunges by 69 percent in fourth quarter

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) — Comcast Corp., America’s largest cable TV operator, said Thursday its profit had plunged 69 percent in the final three months of last year, registering the first quarterly drop since the third quarter of 2004.

Comcast, based in Philadelphia, said that it earned 133 million U.S. dollars, or 6 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, down from 423 million dollars, or 19 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding a decline of 495 million dollars in investments and other income, the company’s profit in the final quarter would have come to 186 million dollars, or 9 cents a share.

Revenue in the quarter increased to 5.7 billion dollars from 5.24 billion dollars in the previous year, Comcast said. Sales of its high-speed Internet products rose 24 percent. But the company’s tax rate jumped to 69 percent from 49 percent in 2004.

In addition, Comcast said that hurricanes affected its business in the country.

Comcast expects to add 3.5 million revenue generating units in 2006, primarily driven by its digital voice service. For the fiscal year of 2006, its cable and consolidated revenue is expected to increase by 9 to 10 percent.