Hughes’ Loss Widens Despite DirectTV Growth

Hughes Electronics Corp. reported a wider net loss for the first quarter Monday, even though it added new U.S. subscribers to its DirectTV service at a faster clip than expected.

The satellite TV broadcaster, which is a unit of General Motors Corp., had a net loss of $156.4million for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a loss of $105.3 million, as its costs jumped 22%. Revenue grew 7.7% to $2.04billion. GM does not provide per share earnings for Hughes.

Hughes’ first-quarter cash flow, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, rose 19% to $134.2 million. The average cash flow estimate was $116.5 million, with a range of $87.6 million to $132 million, as compiled by research firm Multex.

DirecTV U.S., responsible for nearly $1.5 billion of Hughes sales, added 342,000 subscribers in the three months ended March 31, exceeding forecasts of 325,000.

Although the company said customer turnover had improved, the average revenue generated from each user slipped 3% to $56.70 because of lower pay-per-view and premium programming purchases. The average cost to acquire a customer decreased almost 3% during the quarter to $520, the firm said.

Shares of El Segundo-based Hughes fell 57 cents to $15.60 on the New York Stock Exchange.