|
Comcast plans modem push Philadelphia
Philadelphia -- For Comcast Corp., 2000 is the year of the cable modem, executives said Monday.
The MSO -- which said revenue and cash flow each rose about 16 percent on a pro forma basis in the fourth quarter -- plans an all-out push to double cable-modem subscribers in
2000, executives told analysts.
"Comcast@Home will be the focal point for cable this year," executive vice president and treasurer John Alchin told analysts during a conference call.
Comcast finished the year with 142,000 cable-modem subscribers, up from 81,000 in 1998.
Revenue and cash-flow gains in 1999 were aided by the push behind digital-cable sales. The MSO's digital-subscriber count rose from 355,000 in the third quarter to 515,000 in the fourth quarter.
For the full year -- assuming that all acquisitions and divestitures were effective Jan. 1, 1998 -- Comcast's revenue rose 14.5 percent and operating cash flow rose 16.2 percent.
At the cable division, revenue rose 8.9 percent in the quarter to $802.2 million while pro forma operating cash flow rose 10 percent to $372.3 million.
As usual, QVC performed well. Quarterly revenue at the electronic retailer rose 17.8 percent to $888.3 million and operating cash flow rose 13.4 percent to $161.7 million.
- 2/28/00 Multichannel News OnLine
|
