The U.S. second-largest satellite TV operator Dish Network Corp. (DISH) reported on Thursday its fiscal 2011 fourth quarter net profit increased from $252 million, or 56 cents per share a year earlier, to $313 million, or 70 cents per share.
Revenue increased 13%, to $3.63 billion. The analysts polled by Thomson Reuters on average expected the company would post a net profit of 61 cents per share on revenue of $3.62 billion.
Dish said that new users added about 22,000 in the fourth quater, more than the average estimated figure of the analysts polled by StreetAccount, which was 5,000.
The company’s CEO Joe Clayton said they have reserved the trend of churn by introducing the new brand (Blockbuster) service, although there are still growing competitive pressures.
Dish purchased Blockbuster in a bankruptcy auction last year, expanding the business besides the satellite TV. The company has been facing fierce competition from its main rivals DirecTV (DTV) and Time Warner Cable (TWC), as well as Netflix (NFLX).
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