DirecTV profit falls, revenue is up

Satellite broadcaster DirecTV Group Inc. said its third-quarter earnings slipped on higher costs, but revenue rose 18% from more customers and demand for high-definition and digital video recorder services.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, the El Segundo-based company reported that net income fell 14% to $319 million, or 27 cents a share, from $370 million, or 30 cents, a year earlier.

Revenue surged to $4.33 billion from $3.67 billion in the quarter a year earlier.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected a profit of 29 cents a share on revenue of $4.25 billion.

DirecTV shares jumped 75 cents, about 2.9%, to $26.87.

The firm added 240,000 net subscribers at its core U.S. unit in the period, an increase of 45%.

Gross subscriber additions rose 2.5%. Average monthly churn rate, a measurement of the pace of customer defection, fell to 1.6% from 1.8% last year.