The coronavirus pandemic continued to pressure the finances of Comcast Corp. , a cable and entertainment conglomerate whose theme-park business experienced an 81% revenue drop in the latest quarter.
The Philadelphia-based company, owner of Xfinity-branded services, the NBCUniversal media empire and the Sky television business, said third-quarter net profit fell 37% to $2.02 billion from $3.22 billion a year earlier. Revenue slipped 4.8% to $25.53 billion from $26.83 billion.
The company’s Universal Studios theme parks have been hit hard by the pandemic. Its parks in California have been closed since March, and there is limited capacity at those opened in Florida and Japan, prompting the company to lay off a large number of employees. Theme-park revenue fell to $311 million from $1.63 billion a year earlier.
Comcast’s theme-park struggles were partly offset by its broadband business, which posted 633,000 subscriber additions, another record. As more people rely on home broadband during the coronavirus pandemic for work and school, providers have experienced a surge in customer growth in recent quarters.
The company continued to lose pay-TV customers, with 273,000 net defections in the latest quarter. Just like its peers, Comcast continues to shed pay-TV customers who are opting for streaming services. Last week AT&T Inc. reported its pay-TV division lost 627,000 customers.
