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Comcast Corp. reported a 22 percent increase in third-quarter earnings, buoyed by an investment gain and a lower tax rate as it stepped up promotions on its bundled video, phone and Internet plans.
The nation’s largest cable TV operator also surpassed AT&T Inc. as the country’s largest Internet provider.
In the third quarter, Comcast earned $944 million, or 33 cents per share, compared with $771 million, or 26 cents, in the same quarter a year earlier. Analysts were expecting earnings of 25 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters.
WaterFurnace Renewable Energy Inc. on Wednesday reported third-quarter earnings of $4.95 million, or 41 cents per basic diluted share, almost 6 percent less than the $5.25 million, or 43 cents per share, posted for the same three months of last year.
The Fort Wayne-based manufacturer of geothermal heating and cooling systems increased its profit percentage over 2008. Sales were down 9 percent during the quarter to $36.2 million.
“We continue to make strategic investments in technology, product development and expansion of our sales channels,” President and CEO Tom Huntington said in a prepared statement. “As we enter the fourth quarter, we are seeing an uptick in sales orders but do not expect to meet the record sales pace set last year.”
Media conglomerate Time Warner Inc. reported a 38 percent drop in third-quarter profit Wednesday after being hurt by declines at its AOL and publishing segments.
Even so, the results beat expectations, helped by cost cutting.
Still struggling with advertising declines, Time Warner confirmed that it will cut jobs at its magazine unit, Time Inc., though it would not reveal the extent of the cutbacks.
Time Warner said Wednesday its profit fell 38 percent to $661 million, or 55 cents per share, in the July to September quarter, down from $1.1 billion, or 89 cents per share, a year ago.
Excluding unusual items, earnings came to 61 cents a share. That tops the analysts’ average forecast of 53 cents, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.
GMAC, the main lender for GM and Chrysler customers and dealers, reported another quarterly loss Wednesday as bad loans continued to haunt its mortgage lending unit.
Although its third-quarter loss narrowed from a year ago and its auto lending division made money, the results indicate the GMAC still has work to do at its mortgage unit. The unit, ResCap, was a major player in the subprime mortgage business and is still suffering from the bad loans it made during the housing boom.
GMAC Financial Services said its net loss was $767 million during the third quarter versus a loss of $2.52 billion in the same quarter last year.
Results were hurt by one-time items and business lines it is discontinuing.
