DirecTV Q4 Profit Declines - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - DirecTV (DTV) reported that its fourth-quarter net income attributable to the company declined to $778 million from the prior year's $810 million. Earnings per share for the latest fourth quarter were $1.53, same as last year.

The company said the decline in net income for the latest fourth quarter was due to the lower operating profit and unfavorable comparisons in the "Other, net" line of the Consolidated Statements of Operations, partially offset by a decrease in income tax expense mostly due to lower earnings before taxes and a lower effective tax rate in the fourth quarter of 2014 related to the settlement and resolution of state income tax issues.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.40 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenues for the quarter grew 4% to $8.92 billion from $8.59 billion in the prior year, while 19 analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $8.91 billion.

Revenues for the latest quarter increased by 4% principally due to strong ARPU growth at DIRECTV U.S.