DIRECTV Announces Earnings

DIRECTV Group announced earnings before the market opened today, and Wall Street seems happy with what they see from the satellite television provider.  The numbers, covering the fourth quarter results from 2007, show strong revenue and subscriber growth.

Overall, net subribers grew by 35% to 474,000.  Of these, DIRECTV US net subscribers increased by 275,000 and while DIRECTV Latin America grew more than 199,000.   Growth in the Latin American market more than doubled, indicating strong momentum in this area.

Revenue was also strong.  US revenue was up 14% to $4.4 billion, while Latin American revenues grew 41% to $499 million.  For full year 2007, total revenue increased 17% over 2006 to a total of $17.25 billion.

While revenues were on the rise, bottom line earnings were mediocre.   Per share income was .30 cents a share vs .29 in the fourth quarter 2006.  The company attributed anemic bottom line performance to higher interest payments.

Average monthly revenue per subscriber (ARPU) was stellar, growing 8.3% in the US to $87.40.  Latin American ARPU increased 18.1% to $52.22.

The company also attributed its low churn rate of 1.42%, to the growth in customers with HD and DVR services.  The churn rate was the lowest in eight years for DIRECTV.  Such “advanced services” helped protect the company during the recent financial downturn.

Investors sent DIRECTV’s stock, symbol DTV up 95 cents to $24.83 at the close of trading Wednesday.  Over 9 million shares traded hands for the day.