The increase, equivalent of 35 cents a share, represents a turnaround from the loss of $40 million, or 41 cents a share, Charter reported for the same period a a year earlier. The Stamford, Conn.-based company said revenue rose 12% to $2.15 billion, up from $1.91 billion a year earlier.
Charter CEO and President Tom Rutledge said the company plans to complete an all-digital initiative this year. He said the plan, combined with improved service capability and higher customer satisfaction "are expected to result in greater market share and improving cash flow . . . as we position Charter for long-term growth and value creation."
Charter shares were up just over 1% at $131.84 in premarket trading Friday.
The company, urged on by billionaire board member John Malone, had aggressively courted Time Warner Cable. Charter even notified the New York City-based rival on Feb. 11 that it had nominated a full slate of 13 independent candidates for Time Warner's board.
But Comcast CEO Brian Roberts cut in two days later, announcing a $45.2 billion merger agreement that would combine his Philadelphia-based firm, the nation's biggest cable TV provider, with number two Time Warner.
Charter, the fourth-largest cable TV provider, is expected to continue seeking smaller acquisitions as the cable and Internet communications sector consolidates. The firm in 2013 completed a $1.62 billion purchase of Cablevision Systems' Bresnan Broadband Holdings, adding 63,000 residential customers, Charter said Friday.
Potential new acquisition partners include Cox Communications and Cablevision.
There "are at least a few baby elephants left on the M&A savanna," Wunderlich Securities analyst Matthew Harrigan told Reuters Friday.
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