Dish Network Earnings Jump 30%, But Subscriber Losses Continue

Thanks to Blockbuster, revenues climb 12 percent

It was a mixed quarter for Dish Network, as the satellite company saw profits jump 30 percent, but absorbed subscriber losses. 

Net income at the Englewood, Colo. company rose to $319 million with earnings per share topping out at 71 cents, the company announced on Monday.

Also read: Dish Unveils Blockbuster Movie Pass — Are You Sweating Yet, Netflix?

That compared with $245 million or 55 cents per share during the same period last year. 

Revenue at Dish climbed 12 percent to $3.6 billion from $3.2 billion a year ago. 

Those numbers fell just below Wall Street's projections. Analysts had estimated earnings of 74 cents a share on revenue of $3.63 billion, according to Bloomberg. 

Dish said Blockbuster, the rental company it acquired in auction last spring, was partly responsible for the jump in revenues.

One thing the relaunched rental company could not do, however, was help Dish stop its subscriber losses. The company lost a net 111,000 subscribers over the period. It ended the quarter with approximately 14 million subscribers.

"Our net subscriber loss improved over the second quarter of this year but continued to be affected by increased competitive pressures, including aggressive competitive promotional offers, discounting and a weak housing market," Joe Clayton, president and CEO of DISH Network, said in a statement.

Clayton said he expected that the recently launched Blockbuster Movie Pass, boasting a bundled package of DVD by mail rentals and online video, will give the company a competitive advantage going forward.  

On average, analysts had projected subscriber losses of 81,000. 

Shares of Dish jumped nearly 5 percent to $24.65 after its quarterly earnings were announced. 

Dish will host a call with investors at noon ET. 

Comments