Time Warner Cable’s net income rose 19 percent during the first quarter as more people signed up for its high-speed Internet services, even as it lost subscribers for its cable TV.
The New York cable company is in the process of being bought by Comcast for about $45 billion. The deal was announced in February. Comcast is still jockeying for regulatory approval, but proceeding as if it will get it.
Time Warner Cable said its total residential subscribers rose to 14.5 million by the end March, up 148,000 from 14.4 million at the end of December. However, that’s down 4.8 percent from 15.3 million customers at the end of March 2013.
Subscribers for high-speed Internet connections rose 269,000 during the quarter, the biggest increase in six years, since the first quarter of 2008.
During the quarter, the company announced it would begin boosting speeds in its New York City and Los Angeles area systems, with top tiers reaching 300 Mbps.
Phone subscribers rose 107,000.
The company lost 34,000 cable TV subscribers during the quarter, which it said was its smallest loss in at least five years. Cable TV accounted for 45 percent of this quarter’s total revenue.
The company’s net income rose to $479 million, or $1.70 per share, in the three months ended March 31, from $401 million, or $1.34 per share, in the same period a year ago. Adjusted to remove one-time items, the company earned $1.78 per share. Analysts expected earnings of $1.66 per share, according to FactSet.
Revenue rose 2 percent to $5.58 billion from $5.48 billion. Analysts expected revenue of $5.64 billion.
Shares of Time Warner Cable rose 15 cents to $140.03 in morning trading.