http://www.multichannel.com/news/satellite/directv-us-adds-60k-subscribers/390392
DirecTV U.S. Adds 60K Subscribers
DirecTV’s focus on high-margin customers appeared to pay off in the first
quarter, as lower churn rates led to a gain of 60,000 net new subscribers in
the U.S., a big boost from the prior year.
The gain was a marked improvement over the first quarter last year – when the
satellite giant added 12,000 net new subscribers – and is tied to a strong
improvement in customer churn. DirecTV said its average monthly churn declined
8 basis points in the period to 1.37%, mainly because of its focus on
attracting quality new subscribers and improved macroeconomic conditions which
resulted in higher customer pay rates, as well as successful winback offers.
Gross additions of 895,000 were relatively unchanged from the prior year
period. DirecTV U.S. ended the quarter with 20.41 million subscribers.
The stronger subscriber growth helped push domestic revenue up 6% to $6.46
billion and average monthly revenue per unit (ARPU) rose 5.5% to $105.62,
mostly due to proice increases on programming packages and regional sports
networks. Operating profit before depreciation and amortization (OPBDA, a form
pof cash flow) increased 1% to $1.69 billion.
Overall, including its international operations, DirecTV added 279,000 net new
subscribers in the quarter and revenue increased by 4%.
“Our U.S. business generated another strong quarter of results, further
demonstrating our company's strong execution, as well as product and brand
leadership,” said DirecTV president Mike Whitein a statement. “In the quarter,
our focus on high-quality new customers combined with an improving economy to
enable our lowest first quarter churn rate in six years. Just as impressive was
our highest first quarter ARPU growth in five years, as we continue to generate
demand for higher-end services and packages, as well as successfully pass
through programming cost increases to our customers." White added, "In Latin
America, challenging foreign exchange headwinds in Brazil weighed on our U.S.
dollar results. However, performance in PanAmericana, excluding Venezuela, is
exceeding our expectations as the unit grew revenues 19% and OPBDA 33% in U.S.
dollar terms."
White concluded, "We remain confident that our transaction with AT&T will close
in the second quarter, and we are excited to carry our strong operating
momentum forward to help create a unique new market leading company."
