Cablevision reports first-quarter loss

Shares of Cablevision Systems Corp., the fifth-largest U.S. cable provider by subscribers, rose Thursday after the company forecast improved profits following a first-quarter loss.

The shares advanced 0.78 percent to $15.59 in trading Thursday. They recovered after dropping as much as 8.5 percent earlier on the loss in the three months through March. The loss was due in part to a decline in video subscriptions.

Following the earnings report, chief financial officer Gregg Seibert said during a conference call that price increases, higher advertising revenues and declines in operational costs would boost earnings in the current quarter. Adjusted operating cash flow -- a measure of profit that excludes stock compensation and other items -- will rise by at least 10 percent over the first quarter's $343.4 million, he said.

Cablevision reported a per-share loss of 6 cents in the first quarter, trailing the 4-cent average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg. The net loss was $16.1 million, compared with profit of $57.2 million, or 21 cents, a year earlier.

The company didn't buy back any shares in the first quarter in order to pay for damages and costs from Sandy.

Sales fell less than 1 percent to $1.52 billion. Analysts had estimated $1.58 billion.