Subscription television business Dish Network Corp. (DISH) Monday reported a 12.3% decline in its third-quarter profit, hurt by lower revenues and higher expenses.
The company's third-quarter net income attributable to common shareholders was $81 million compared with $92 million last year. Earnings per share declined to $0.18 from $0.20 in the prior-year quarter.
On average, 17 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.44 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Dish Network's total revenue was $2.892 billion, down from $2.937 billion in the previous year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $2.93 billion.
According to the company, the third-quarter performance was positively impacted by its sales and marketing promotions and reduced churn. The second quarter 2009 completion of the company's security access device replacement program, an increase in new subscriber commitment period and initiatives to retain subscribers positively impacted the churn. The company also said that on January 1, 2008, it completed a tax-free distribution of its technology and set-top box business and certain infrastructure assets into a separate publicly-traded company, EchoStar Corp. Dish Network and EchoStar now operate as separate publicly-traded companies. The company's subscriber-related revenue declined 0.8% to $2.86 billion from $2.89 billion in the previous year, hurt primarily by lower Average monthly revenue per subscriber, or ARPU.
ARPU was $69.51 versus $69.82 during the same period in 2008. ARPU was negatively impacted by promotional discounts on programming offered to new subscribers and the company's initiatives to retain subscribers, all of which negatively impacted subscriber-related margins.
Equipment sales and other revenue was $23.39 million, down 44.2% from $41.92 million in the prior-year quarter, primarily due to lower non-subsidized sales of DBS accessories and digital converter boxes in 2009.
Equipment sales at EchoStar Corp and subsidiaries decreased to $1.28 million from $2.43 million in the same quarter last year. Transitional services and other revenue at EchoStar reached $4.92 million, lower than the previous year's $6.27 million.
The company said it gained approximately 241,000 net subscribers during the quarter ended on September 30, 2009, ending the quarter with approximately 13.851 million subscribers. Current economic conditions negatively impacted subscriber growth. Meanwhile, subscriber-related expenses continued to increase.
As of September 30, 2009, the company had approximately 13.851 million Dish Network subscribers, an increase of 0.5% from approximately 13.780 million subscribers at September 30, 2008. The company added approximately 887,000 gross new subscribers in the quarter, up 7.5% from about 825,000 gross new subscribers a year ago.
Total costs and expenses rose to $2.70 billion from $2.52 billion in the previous year. The company's current year quarter expenses included a Tivo litigation expense of $131.93 million.
The company also stated that on November 6, its Board of Directors declared a one-time dividend of $2 per share on outstanding Class A and Class B common stock. The dividend will be payable in cash on December 2 to shareholders of record on November 20.
For the nine-month period, the company posted net income attributable to Dish Network common shareholders of $456.67 million or $1.02 per share, compared with $686.36 million or $1.50 per share a year ago. Total revenue came in flat at last year's $8.696 billion.
Among others in the sector, Comcast Corp. (CMCSA, CMCSK) has reported a 22% increase in its third-quarter profit, helped by an increase in revenues and lower capital spending during the quarter. However, the company reported slower customer growth in the latest quarter compared to the same period last year, although results were an improvement over the preceding second quarter. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based company reported net income attributable to the company of $944 million, or $0.33 per share, compared with $771 million, or $0.26 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenues for the quarter increased 3% to $8.80 billion from $8.55 billion in the prior-year quarter.
Another peer, DirecTV Group, Inc. (DTV) reported a marginally higher profit for the third quarter, helped by lower net income attributable to non-controlling interest, even as higher income tax expenses offset an increase in revenue and operating profitability. The company also witnessed subscriber gains being offset by higher customer cancellations.
The El Segundo, California-based company's third-quarter net income attributable to the DirecTV Group was $366 million or $0.37 per share, compared with $363 million or $0.33 per share a year ago. Revenues increased 10% to $5.47 billion from $4.98 billion for the third quarter of 2008.
DISH is trading at $20.30, up $1.15, on a volume of 4.57 million shares.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.