PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 23, 2020-- Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) today reported results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2019.

Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Comcast Corporation, said, "We delivered strong operational and financial results in the fourth quarter, capping another great year for Comcast, including double-digit growth in full-year adjusted EPS, record free cash flow and 1.4 million broadband net additions in the U.S. Our teams at Cable, NBCUniversal and Sky continued to execute at a high level, strengthening our leadership position in our markets. Looking ahead, in 2020 we are leaning into exciting opportunities, including: further differentiating our broadband product in the U.S. through innovations like Flex and xFi Advanced Security; accelerating the deployment of Sky Q; launching a new broadband service in Italy; debuting Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan; and introducing a world-class streaming service - Peacock - which leverages capabilities from across Comcast. Underscoring our confidence in the continued success of our company, we are pleased to announce a 10% increase in our dividend, our 12th consecutive annual increase."

Full Year 2019 Highlights:

• Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA Increased 13.6%; Earnings per Share Increased 14.7% to $3.13, on an Adjusted Basis; Generated Free Cash Flow of $13.4 Billion
• Cable Communications Adjusted EBITDA Increased 7.3% and Adjusted EBITDA per Customer Relationship Increased 3.5%
• Cable Communications Total Customer Relationships Increased by 1.1 Million, the Best Result on Record; Total High-Speed Internet Customers Increased by 1.4 Million, the Best Result in 12 Years
• NBCUniversal Filmed Entertainment Adjusted EBITDA Increased 13.5%
• Sky Adjusted EBITDA Increased 7.1% on a Pro Forma Basis to $3.1 Billion; Excluding the Impact of Currency, Adjusted EBITDA Increased 12.2% on a Pro Forma Basis

4th Quarter 2019 Highlights:

• Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA Increased 3.0%; Earnings per Share Increased 9.7% to $0.79, on an Adjusted Basis; Generated Free Cash Flow of $2.5 Billion
• Cable Communications Adjusted EBITDA Increased 5.4%
• Cable Communications Total Customer Relationship Net Additions were 372,000, the Best Quarterly Net Additions on Record; Total High-Speed Internet Customer Net Additions were 442,000
• NBCUniversal Broadcast Television Adjusted EBITDA Increased 14.2%
• Sky Total Customer Relationships Increased 1.7% Year-Over-Year to 24.0 Million, Including Net Additions of 77,000 in the Quarter

Dividends:

• Dividends Paid Totaled $3.7 Billion in 2019; Increased Dividend by 10% to $0.92 per Share on an Annualized Basis for 2020
  
   

Consolidated Financial Results

The comparability of our consolidated results was impacted by the fourth quarter 2018 Sky transaction. Sky’s results of operations are included in our consolidated financial statements following the acquisition date.

Consolidated Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2019 increased 2.0% to $28.4 billion. Consolidated Net Income Attributable to Comcast increased 25.9% to $3.2 billion. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA increased 3.0% to $8.4 billion.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, consolidated revenue increased 15.3% to $109 billion compared to 2018. Consolidated net income attributable to Comcast increased 11.3% to $13.1 billion. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA increased 13.6% to $34.3 billion.

Earnings per Share (EPS) for the fourth quarter of 2019 was $0.68, an increase of 23.6% compared to the fourth quarter of 2018. On an adjusted basis, EPS increased 9.7% to $0.79 (see Table 5).

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, EPS was $2.83, a 11.9% increase compared to the prior year. On an adjusted basis, EPS increased 14.7% to $3.13 (see Table 5).

Capital Expenditures decreased 2.5% to $3.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019. Cable Communications’ capital expenditures decreased 7.8% to $2.1 billion. NBCUniversal’s capital expenditures increased 7.6% to $641 million. Sky had capital expenditures of $228 million.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, capital expenditures increased 1.8% to $10.0 billion compared to 2018. Cable Communications' capital expenditures decreased 10.5% to $6.9 billion. NBCUniversal's capital expenditures increased 19.7% to $2.1 billion. Sky had capital expenditures of $768 million.

Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities was $6.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019. Free Cash Flow was $2.5 billion (see Table 4).

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, net cash provided by operating activities was $25.7 billion. Free cash flow was $13.4 billion (see Table 4).

Dividends paid during the fourth quarter of 2019 totaled $957 million. For the full year, Comcast made four cash dividend payments totaling $3.7 billion.

Today Comcast announced that it increased its dividend by 10% to $0.92 per share on an annualized basis for 2020. In accordance with the increase, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.23 a share on the company's stock, payable April 22, 2020 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on April 1, 2020.

Consolidated Pro Forma Financial Results

Pro forma results are presented as if the Sky transaction occurred on January 1, 2017. The pro forma amounts are based on historical results of operations and are primarily adjusted for the allocation of purchase price and excluding costs directly related to the transaction. These amounts are not necessarily indicative of what our results would have been had we operated Sky since January 1, 2017 (see Table 7 for reconciliations of pro forma financial data).

Consolidated Pro Forma Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2019 was consistent with the prior year period at $28.4 billion. Consolidated Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA increased 2.1% to $8.4 billion.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, consolidated pro forma revenue decreased 0.5% to $109 billion compared to 2018. Consolidated Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA increased 5.9% to $34.3 billion.

Cable Communications

Revenue for Cable Communications increased 2.6% to $14.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019, driven primarily by increases in high-speed internet, business services and wireless revenue, partially offset by a decrease in advertising revenue. High-speed internet revenue increased 8.8%, driven by an increase in the number of residential high-speed internet customers and rate adjustments. Business services revenue increased 8.8%, due to an increase in the number of customers receiving our services and an increase in average rates. Wireless revenue increased 39.4%, primarily reflecting an increase in the number of customer lines. Advertising revenue decreased 19.1%, reflecting a decrease in political advertising revenue. Excluding political advertising revenue, advertising revenue was consistent with the prior year period. Video revenue decreased 1.2%, reflecting a decrease in the number of residential video customers, partially offset by rate adjustments. Voice revenue decreased 3.6%, primarily due to a decrease in the number of residential voice customers. Other revenue decreased 2.3%, primarily reflecting the timing of X1 licensing revenue, partially offset by higher security and automation services revenue.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, Cable revenue increased 3.7% to $58.1 billion compared to 2018, driven by growth in high-speed internet, business services, wireless and other revenue, partially offset by a decrease in advertising, video and voice revenue.

Total Customer Relationships increased by 372,000 to 31.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. Residential customer relationships increased by 352,000 and business customer relationships increased by 20,000. Total high-speed internet customer net additions were 442,000, total video customer net losses were 149,000, total voice customer net losses were 2,000 and total security and automation customer net additions were 10,000. In addition, Cable Communications added 261,000 wireless lines in the quarter.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, total customer relationships increased by 1.1 million. Residential customer relationships increased by 1.0 million and business customer relationships increased by 94,000. Total high-speed internet customer net additions were 1.4 million, total video customer net losses were 733,000, total voice customer net losses were 173,000 and total security and automation customer net additions were 59,000. In addition, Cable Communications added 816,000 wireless lines during the year.

Adjusted EBITDA for Cable Communications increased 5.4% to $5.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019, reflecting higher revenue, partially offset by a 0.8% increase in operating expenses. Non-programming expenses increased 1.6%, primarily reflecting higher technical and product support expenses, partially offset by lower other operating costs and advertising, marketing and promotional costs. Non-programming expenses per customer relationship decreased 1.9%. Programming costs decreased 0.6% due to the timing of programming contract renewals and video subscriber declines. This quarter's Adjusted EBITDA per customer relationship increased 1.8%, and Adjusted EBITDA margin was 39.8% compared to 38.8% in the fourth quarter of 2018. Cable Communications results include a loss of $116 million from our wireless business, compared to a loss of $191 million in the prior period.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, Cable Adjusted EBITDA increased 7.3% to $23.3 billion compared to 2018, driven by higher revenue, partially offset by a 1.4% increase in operating expenses. The higher expenses were due to a 1.5% increase in non-programming expenses and a 1.1% increase in programming costs. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, Adjusted EBITDA per customer relationship increased 3.5%, and Adjusted EBITDA margin was 40.1% compared to 38.7% in 2018. Cable Communications results include a loss of $401 million from our wireless business, compared to a loss of $743 million in the prior period.

Capital Expenditures for Cable Communications decreased 7.8% to $2.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019. Cable capital expenditures represented 14.5% of Cable revenue in the fourth quarter of 2019 compared to 16.1% in last year's fourth quarter.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, Cable capital expenditures decreased 10.5% to $6.9 billion. Cable capital expenditures represented 11.9% of Cable revenue compared to 13.8% in 2018.

NBCUniversal

Revenue for NBCUniversal decreased 2.6% to $9.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 4.7% to $2.0 billion.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, NBCUniversal revenue decreased 5.0% to $34.0 billion compared to last year's results, which included an incremental $1.6 billion of revenue generated by the broadcasts of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and the NFL's Super Bowl LII at our TV Businesses. Adjusted EBITDA increased 2.0% to $8.8 billion.

Cable Networks

Cable Networks revenue increased 1.2% to $2.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019, primarily reflecting higher advertising and content licensing and other revenue. Advertising revenue increased 2.0%, reflecting higher rates, partially offset by audience ratings declines. Content licensing and other revenue increased 3.4%, due to higher revenue from our digital businesses. Distribution revenue was consistent with the prior year period, reflecting contractual rate increases and the timing of contract renewals, offset by a decline in subscribers. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 1.4% to $1.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019, reflecting higher revenue, more than offset by an increase in operating costs and expenses.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, revenue from the Cable Networks segment decreased 2.2% to $11.5 billion compared to 2018, primarily reflecting lower content licensing and other and advertising revenue. Excluding $378 million of revenue generated by the broadcast of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics in the first quarter of 2018, Cable Networks revenue increased 1.0% (see Table 6). Adjusted EBITDA of $4.4 billion was consistent with the prior year period, reflecting lower revenue, offset by a decrease in operating costs and expenses, including programming and production costs, due to the broadcast of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics in the first quarter of 2018.

Broadcast Television

Broadcast Television revenue increased 2.1% to $3.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019, reflecting higher distribution and other and content licensing revenue, partially offset by a decrease in advertising revenue. Distribution and other revenue increased 9.9%, primarily due to higher retransmission consent fees. Content licensing revenue increased 5.8%, primarily due to the timing of content provided under licensing agreements. Advertising revenue decreased 1.5%, due to a decrease in political advertising revenue. Excluding political advertising revenue, advertising revenue increased in the low-single-digits, reflecting higher pricing, partially offset by audience ratings declines. Adjusted EBITDA increased 14.2% to $471 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, primarily reflecting higher revenue and consistent operating costs and expenses.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, revenue from the Broadcast Television segment decreased 10.3% to $10.3 billion compared to 2018, primarily reflecting a decrease in advertising revenue. Excluding $770 million of revenue generated by the broadcast of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics in the first quarter of 2018 and $423 million of revenue generated by the broadcast of the NFL's Super Bowl LII in the first quarter of 2018, Broadcast Television revenue of $10.3 billion was consistent with the prior year period (see Table 6). Adjusted EBITDA increased 4.4% to $1.7 billion compared to 2018, with lower revenue more than offset by a decrease in programming and production costs, primarily due to decreased sports programming costs associated with the broadcasts of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and the NFL's Super Bowl LII in the first quarter of 2018.

Filmed Entertainment

Filmed Entertainment revenue decreased 21.0% to $1.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019, primarily reflecting lower theatrical revenue. Theatrical revenue decreased 59.1%, reflecting the volume and strength of releases in last year's fourth quarter, including Dr. Seuss' The Grinch and Halloween. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 48.9% to $91 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, reflecting lower revenue, partially offset by lower programming and production costs.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, revenue from the Filmed Entertainment segment decreased 9.2% to $6.5 billion compared to 2018, primarily reflecting lower theatrical revenue, partially offset by higher content licensing revenue. Adjusted EBITDA increased 13.5% to $833 million compared to 2018, reflecting lower revenue, more than offset by lower operating expenses.

Theme Parks

Theme Parks revenue increased 3.2% to $1.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019, due to increases in guest spending. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 4.5% to $636 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, reflecting higher revenue, more than offset by higher operating expenses.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, revenue from the Theme Parks segment increased 4.4% to $5.9 billion compared to 2018, due to increases in guest spending and higher attendance. Adjusted EBITDA of $2.5 billion was consistent with the prior year period, reflecting an increase in revenue, offset by higher operating expenses.

Headquarters, Other and Eliminations

NBCUniversal Headquarters, Other and Eliminations include overhead and eliminations among the NBCUniversal businesses. For the quarter ended December 31, 2019, NBCUniversal Headquarters, Other and Eliminations Adjusted EBITDA loss was $204 million, compared to a loss of $176 million in the fourth quarter of 2018.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, NBCUniversal Headquarters, Other and Eliminations Adjusted EBITDA loss was $690 million compared to a loss of $676 million in 2018.

Sky

Pro forma results are presented as if the Sky transaction occurred on January 1, 2017. The pro forma amounts are based on historical results of operations and are primarily adjusted for the allocation of purchase price and excluding costs directly related to the transaction. These amounts are not necessarily indicative of what our results would have been had we operated Sky since January 1, 2017, (see Table 7 for reconciliations of pro forma financial data).

Pro Forma Revenue for Sky of $5.0 billion was consistent with the prior year period. Excluding the impact of currency, revenue increased 1.4%, driven by higher direct-to-consumer and content revenue, partially offset by lower advertising revenue. Direct-to-consumer revenue increased 2.3% to $4.0 billion, driven by an increase in customer relationships. Content revenue increased 2.7% to $371 million, reflecting higher rates for wholesaling of our programming. Advertising revenue decreased 4.1% to $647 million, reflecting an unfavorable impact from a change in legislation related to gambling advertisements in the UK and Italy, as well as overall market weakness.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, pro forma Sky revenue decreased 3.0% to $19.2 billion compared to 2018. Excluding the impact of currency, revenue increased 1.7%, reflecting growth in content and direct-to-consumer revenue, partially offset by lower advertising revenue.

Pro Forma Total Customer Relationships increased by 77,000 to 24.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, total customer relationships increased by 394,000.

Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA for Sky of $765 million was consistent with the prior year period. Excluding the impact of currency, Adjusted EBITDA increased 0.4%, reflecting higher revenue, partially offset by higher operating expenses.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, pro forma Sky Adjusted EBITDA increased 7.1% to $3.1 billion compared to 2018. Excluding the impact of currency, Adjusted EBITDA increased 12.2%.

Corporate, Other and Eliminations

Corporate, Other and Eliminations primarily relate to corporate operations and Comcast Spectacor, as well as eliminations among Comcast's businesses. For the quarter ended December 31, 2019, the Corporate, Other and Eliminations Adjusted EBITDA⁶ loss was $232 million, an increase of $30 million compared to 2018, primarily driven by start up costs associated with Peacock.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, the Corporate, Other and Eliminations Adjusted EBITDA⁶ loss was $879 million, an increase of $73 million compared to 2018, primarily driven by start up costs associated with Peacock.

Conference Call and Other Information

Comcast Corporation will host a conference call with the financial community today, January 23, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time (ET). The conference call and related materials will be broadcast live and posted on its Investor Relations website at www.cmcsa.com. Those parties interested in participating via telephone should dial (800) 263-8495 with the conference ID number 3469916. A replay of the call will be available starting at 12:00 p.m. ET on January 23, 2020, on the Investor Relations website or by telephone. To access the telephone replay, which will be available until Thursday, January 30, 2020 at midnight ET, please dial (855) 859-2056 and enter the conference ID number 3469916.

From time to time, we post information that may be of interest to investors on our website at www.cmcsa.com and on our corporate website, www.comcastcorporation.com. To automatically receive Comcast financial news by email, please visit www.cmcsa.com and subscribe to email alerts.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements. Readers are directed to Comcast’s periodic and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a description of such risks and uncertainties. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In this discussion, we sometimes refer to financial measures that are not presented according to generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. (GAAP). Certain of these measures are considered “non-GAAP financial measures” under the SEC regulations; those rules require the supplemental explanations and reconciliations that are in Comcast’s Form 8-K (Quarterly Earnings Release) furnished to the SEC.

About Comcast Corporation

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with three primary businesses: Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal, and Sky. Comcast Cable is one of the United States’ largest high-speed internet, video, and phone providers to residential customers under the Xfinity brand, and also provides these services to businesses. It also provides wireless and security and automation services to residential customers under the Xfinity brand. NBCUniversal is global and operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures, and Universal Parks and Resorts. Sky is one of Europe's leading media and entertainment companies, connecting customers to a broad range of video content through its pay television services. It also provides communications services, including residential high-speed internet, phone, and wireless services. Sky operates the Sky News broadcast network and sports and entertainment networks, produces original content, and has exclusive content rights.

Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.