(Reuters) -Charter Communications on Friday topped Wall Street estimate for first-quarter revenue and added more subscribers than expected for its mobile services, thanks to strong demand for its bundled plans.
Shares of the broadband and cable TV provider were up 1.5% in premarket trading.
The company has benefited from its plans that offer customers the option to combine internet, TV and phone services into a single, customizable package.
Charter added 514,000 mobile lines during the first quarter, higher than the growth of 486,000 a year earlier and the Visible Alpha estimate of an increase of 477,410.
While a highly saturated market makes it tougher to add new subscribers, Charter’s bet on rural expansion has aided its business.
The company’s total revenue was $13.74 billion, ahead of analysts’ average estimate of $13.68 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
During the quarter, Charter lost 60,000 internet customers, of which 9,000 disconnects were related to the California wildfires in January. That compares with the 45,160 internet customer losses estimated by Visible Alpha.
Telecom operators in the United States have refreshed plans and added attractive deals to lock in customers amid concerns about a smaller market pool.
Charter’s total video customers decreased by 181,000 during the quarter, less than the decline of 405,000 a year earlier, helped by demand for its new, simplified pricing plan, which includes ad-supported version of services such as Max, Disney+ and Comcast’s Peacock.
Comcast on Thursday attributed growth at its Peacock streaming service in the first quarter to its distribution deal with Charter.
Charter earned $8.42 per share during the three months ended March 31, compared with analysts’ estimate of $8.69.
(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
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