Time Warner Cable, the nation’s second largest cable provider, announced a small decline in third quarter profits as the continued flight of video subscribers offset increases in Internet customers.
Compared to the same quarter last year, Time Warner’s profit dipped 1.1 percent to $356 million, below what analysts predicted, while revenue increased 3.7 percent to $4.9 billion, also a bit short of what the Street expected.
The biggest culprit was the residential home video services department, which lost 128,000 subscribers.
As customers weigh the possibility of less expensive packages or cutting the cord all together, cable company subscriber rolls continue to shrink. Telecommunications competitors like DirectTV and Verizon don't help either.
However, the good news is that without cable customers are even more dependent on Internet for their entertainment, reflected in the 89,000 new customers for Time Warner’s high-speed data services.
“We posted steady financial progress in the third quarter, powered by residential broadband and business services, and we’re pleased with the stronger subscriber results in August and September,” said Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt. “We continue to focus our efforts on maximizing our growth opportunities.”
Thus far, the company's stock price is down almost 9 percent in trading.