Cablevision Systems reports subscriber and revenue gain

Cablevision Systems (CVC) Friday said it gained roughly 5,000 new subscribers during the second quarter as the company reported higher revenue in financial results that topped Wall Street forecasts.

The Long Island, N.Y.-based company said total customers subscribing to at least one of its services rose to 3.112 million, up from 3.117 million during the same period in 2014. That included approximately 14,000 more high-speed data customers, helping offset losses of 16,000 video subscribers and 7,000 voice customers.

Cablevision CEO James Dolan said the results marked the company's largest quarterly gains in total customer relationships and high-speed data subscribers in more than two years.

Consolidated net revenues rose to $1.653 billion during the three months that ended June 30, up 1.6% from $1.628 billion for the same period last year. The increase was driven in part by average monthly cable revenue per customer of $158.52, up $5.80 or 3.8% from 2014.

Cablevision reported quarterly net profit of $75.6 million, or 27 cents a share, lower than the $94.2 million, or 35 cents a share for last year's second quarter.

Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had forecast $1.645 billion in net revenues and earnings of 25 cents a share.

The results came in a week during which Disney and other large media companies reported quarterly results that disappointed Wall Street.

Cablevision has tried to appeal to so-called cord-cutters, TV viewers who are turning to online streaming services such as Netflix. The company in April became the first pay-TV firm to offer HBO's NOW stand-alone streaming service to its Optimum Online customers via the Internet.

"Over the last three years, we have transformed our company through strategic investments that have made our operations more efficient, increased the reliability and performance of our network and enhanced our products and the customer experience," said Dolan in a statement issued with the firm's earnings results.

Cablevision shares rose in July after French billionaire Patrick Drahi said he was interested in buying U.S. cable companies. But the stock closed down 2.68% Friday at $25.82, extending losses earlier in the week.