(Reuters) - DirecTV , the No.1 U.S. satellite TV provider, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as average revenue per user rose in the United States.
Shares of the company, which also reported higher-than-expected net subscriber additions in Latin America, rose about 1.5 percent before the bell.
Net income attributable to the company fell to $561 million, or $1.09 per share, in the first quarter ended March 31 from $690 million, or $1.20 per share, a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned $1.63 per share, beating analysts' average estimates of $1.50 per share.
The growth in adjusted earnings per share was in part driven by stock repurchases of $895 million in the quarter, the company said.
Revenue increased 4 percent to $7.86 billion, but missed the average analyst estimate of $7.91 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue from the United States grew 5 percent to $6.09 billion as average revenue per user rose due to higher fees, price increases and higher ad revenue.
Revenue from its DirecTV Latin America unit - which accounts for 21 percent of total revenue - remained flat at $1.72 billion as average revenue per user fell 10 percent.
U.S. net subscriber additions fell to 12,000 from 21,000 a year earlier. Analysts were expecting net additions of 14,000, according to market research firm StreetAccount.
Net subscriber additions in Latin America, its largest growth area, fell to 361,000 from 583,000 a year earlier, but came above analysts' estimates of 277,000.
DirecTV shares, which gained 16 percent this year, closed at $79.84 on the Nasdaq on Monday.
(Reporting by Liana Baker and Soham Chatterjee; Editing by Ted Kerr)
