Charter Communications Posts Unexpected Profit

Charter Communications Inc. posted an unexpected profit Thursday as its third quarter was helped by stronger revenue, especially from its Internet operations, as well as a tax benefit.

The company has seen strength in its Internet and commercial revenue of late. Internet revenue was up 17% at $762 million in the latest quarter, helped by an increase of 430,000 customers over the last year and price adjustments. Commercial revenue, meanwhile, jumped 13%.

Video revenue grew 3.1% to $1.1 billion in the third quarter, helped in part by annual and promotional rate adjustments and an increase in expanded basic and digital customers. Voice revenue, meanwhile, fell 4.8% to $135 million.

Overall, Charter posted a profit $54 million, or 48 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $53 million, or 49 cents a share. The latest quarter saw a $142 million tax benefit versus a $59 million tax expense in the same period of 2014.

Revenue increased 7.1% to $2.45 billion.

Analysts had expected a loss of seven cents a share on revenue of $2.46 billion.

Shares were inactive premarket.

Charter is trying to win regulatory approval for its $ 55 billion cash-and-stock deal to buy Time Warner Cable as well as smaller operator Bright House Networks LLC. The deal was struck only a month after Time Warner Cable went back on the block after Comcast in April terminated the companies' planned $45.2 billion merger in the face of serious pushback from Washington regulators.

Charter could eventually use its larger size to push back on big TV channel owners, like Time Warner Inc.'s HBO, as they experiment with new Web products outside of the TV bundle.

Write to Anne Steele at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 29, 2015 09:25 ET (13:25 GMT)

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