Cablevision income down 42% in quarter

Cablevision’s third-quarter net income sank 42.6 percent from a year earlier, the company reported Friday, as customer losses and Tropical Storm Irene took their toll.

The drop from $68.4 million last year to $39.3 million this year would have been more drastic if it had not been for profits from last year’s acquisition of Bresnan Communications, a cable company that serves about 330,000 customers in four western states, according to its report.

Also, the Bethpage cable giant spent $16 million in repairs following Hurricane Irene, figures show.

Net revenues for the third quarter grew 8 percent to $1.67 billion from $1.54 billion, with almost all of the growth driven by Bresnan, the report said.

But the earnings report said net income was up 33.1 percent during the first nine months of the year, or $177.6 million compared to $133.4 million for the same period last year.

Cablevision, Newsday’s parent company, said it lost about 19,000 video customers in the third quarter.

-------------------

Visit newsday.com/biz to read more local business news.