NBC Universal owner Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is set to open almost 3% higher in premarket dealing after second quarter results beat Wall Street expectations.
The stronger performance was driven by the group’s movies unit, helped by the latest releases in the Fast & Furious and Fifty Shades franchises. The unit reported a 59% rise in revenue up to US$2.2bn for the quarter, with revenue from the whole NBCUniversal unit up 17.3% to US$8.3bn.
Overall, Comcast reported US$21.16bn of quarterly revenue which was an increase of 9.8% on the comparative period of last year. Group net income amounted to US$2.5bn, up 23.9% from the second quarter of last year, meanwhile earnings (adjusted EBITDA) was reported at around US$7.1bn, from US$6.45bn.
It reported earnings per share of 52 cents, versus market expectations of 48 cents.
"We delivered terrific results during the second quarter,” said Brian Roberts, Comcast chief executive.
Roberts also highlighted positive trends including better affiliate and retransmission revenues for the TV unit, growth at Universal Theme Parks, earnings growth in its cable communications unit and a new product launch for home broadband.
On Wall Street, Comcast shares were up 95 cents or 2.4% changing hands at US$40.30 each.