UNITED STATESSECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
MARCH 31, 2004 OR
Commission File Number 000-50093
COMCAST CORPORATION(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (215) 665-1700
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding twelve months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such requirements for the past 90 days.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12-b2 of the Exchange Act). Yes X No
As of March 31, 2004, there were 1,358,158,932 shares of our Class A Common Stock, 884,278,121 shares of our Class A Special Common Stock and 9,444,375 shares of our Class B Common Stock outstanding.
COMCAST CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES FORM 10-Q QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q is for the three months ended March 31, 2004. This Quarterly Report modifies and supersedes documents filed prior to this Quarterly Report. Information that we file with the SEC in the future will automatically update and supersede information contained in this Quarterly Report. In this Quarterly Report, we refer to Comcast Corporation as Comcast; Comcast and its consolidated subsidiaries as we, us and our; and Comcast Holdings Corporation as Comcast Holdings.
You should carefully review the information contained in this Quarterly Report, and should particularly consider any risk factors that we set forth in this Quarterly Report and in other reports or documents that we file from time to time with the SEC. In this Quarterly Report, we state our beliefs of future events and of our future financial performance. In some cases, you can identify those so-called forward-looking statements by words such as may, will, should, expects, plans, anticipates, believes, estimates, predicts, potential, or continue or the negative of those words and other comparable words. You should be aware that those statements are only our predictions. In evaluating those statements, you should specifically consider various factors, including the risks outlined below. Actual events or our actual results may differ materially from any of our forward-looking statements.
Our businesses may be affected by, among other things:
changes in laws and regulations,
changes in the competitive environment,
changes in technology,
industry consolidation and mergers,
franchise related matters,
market conditions that may adversely affect the availability of debt and equity financing for working capital, capital expenditures or other purposes,
the demand for the programming content we distribute or the willingness of other video program distributors to carry our content, and
general economic conditions.
As more fully described elsewhere in this Quarterly Report and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, on September 17, 2003, we sold to Liberty Media Corporation our approximate 57% interest in QVC, Inc., which markets a wide variety of products directly to consumers primarily on merchandise-focused television programs. Accordingly, financial information related to QVC is presented as a discontinued operation in our financial statements.
COMCAST CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES FORM 10-Q QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2004
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET(Unaudited)
See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.
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COMCAST CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES FORM 10-Q QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2004 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited)
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COMCAST CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES FORM 10-Q QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2004 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS(Unaudited)
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COMCAST CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES FORM 10-Q QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2004 NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited)
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COMCAST CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES FORM 10-Q QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2004 NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - CONTINUED (Unaudited)
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Our regional programming networks Comcast SportsNet, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Cable Sports Southeast and CN8-The Comcast Network are included in our cable segment.
Corporate and other includes corporate activities, elimination entries and all other businesses not presented in our cable or content segments. Assets included in this caption consist primarily of our investments (see Note 5).
Non-US revenues were not significant in any period. No single customer accounted for a significant amount of our revenue in any period.
Operating income (loss) before depreciation and amortization is defined as operating income before depreciation and amortization, impairment charges, if any, related to fixed and intangible assets and gains or losses from the sale of assets, if any. As such, it eliminates the significant level of non-cash depreciation and amortization expense that results from the capital intensive nature of our businesses and intangible assets recognized in business combinations, and is unaffected by our capital structure or investment activities. Our management and Board of Directors use this measure in evaluating our consolidated operating performance and the operating performance of all of our operating segments. This metric is used to allocate resources and capital to our operating segments and is a significant component of our annual incentive compensation programs. We believe that this measure is also useful to investors as it is one of the bases for comparing our operating performance with other companies in our industries, although our measure may not be directly comparable to similar measures used by other companies. This measure should not be considered as a substitute for operating income (loss), net income (loss), net cash
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provided by operating activities or other measures of performance or liquidity reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
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COMCAST CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES FORM 10-Q QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2004 NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - CONCLUDED (Unaudited)
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Overview
We are principally involved in the management and operation of broadband communications networks (our cable segment) and in the management of programming content over cable and satellite television networks (our content segment). During the first quarter of 2004, we received over 94% of our revenue from our cable segment, primarily through monthly subscriptions to our video, high-speed Internet and phone services, as well as from advertising. Subscribers typically pay us monthly, based on rates and related charges that vary according to their chosen level of service and the type of equipment they use. Revenue from our content segment is derived from the sale of advertising time and affiliation agreements with cable and satellite television companies.
Highlights for the first quarter of 2004 included the following:
Revenue growth of 9.8% in our cable segment compared to the same quarter in 2003, driven by continued growth in our new services, such as digital cable and high-speed Internet;
Operating income before depreciation and amortization growth of 21.0% in our cable segment compared to the same quarter in 2003, resulting from our revenue growth and efficiencies achieved through integration of the Broadband operations; and
Refinancing three of our previously existing revolving credit facilities with a new $4.5 billion, five-year revolving bank credit facility.
The following provides the details of these highlights and insights into our financial statements, including discussions of our results of operations and our liquidity and capital resources.
Business Developments
Refer to Note 4to our financial statements included in Item 1 for a discussion of our acquisitions and other significant events.
On April 28, 2004, we announced the withdrawal of our proposal to merge with The Walt Disney Company.
Results of Continuing Operations
Revenues
Consolidated revenues for the first quarter of 2004 increased $442 million from the same quarter in 2003. Of this increase, $415 million relates to our cable segment, which is discussed separately below. The remaining increase is primarily the result of our content segment, which achieved combined revenue growth of 21.7% during the first quarter of 2004 compared to the same quarter in 2003. This increase in our content segment was the result of increases in distribution revenue and advertising revenue.
Operating, selling, general and administrative expenses
Consolidated operating, selling, general and administrative expenses for the first quarter of 2004 increased $137 million from the same quarter in 2003. Of this increase, $117 million relates to our cable segment, which is discussed separately below. The remaining increase is primarily the result of increases in corporate expenses.
Depreciation
Depreciation expense increased $18 million for the first quarter of 2004 compared to the same quarter in 2003 and the increase is primarily attributable to our cable segment. This increase is principally due to our recent capital expenditures as we complete our upgrade program.
Amortization
Amortization expense decreased $78 million for the first quarter of 2004 compared to the same quarter in 2003 and the decrease is primarily attributable to our cable segment and is principally due to a decrease in the amortization of our franchise related customer relationship intangible assets. In the fourth quarter of 2003, we reduced the value of these intangible assets as a result of obtaining updated valuation reports, which resulted in lower amortization expense.
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Cable Segment Operating Results
The following table presents our cable segment operating results (dollars in millions):
The following table presents our subscriber and monthly average revenue statistics on a pro forma basis. The pro forma adjustments reflect the addition of approximately 54,000 subscribers acquired in various small acquisitions between June 2003 and March 2004. The impact of these acquisitions on our segment operating results was not material (subscribers in thousands).
Operating income before depreciation and amortization is defined as operating income before depreciation and amortization, impairment charges, if any, related to fixed and intangible assets and gains or losses from the sale of assets, if any. As such, it eliminates the significant level of non-cash depreciation and amortization expense that results from the capital intensive nature of our businesses and intangible assets recognized in business combinations, and is unaffected by our capital structure or investment activities. Our management and Board of Directors use this measure in evaluating our consolidated operating performance and the operating performance of all of our operating segments. This metric is used to allocate resources and capital to our operating segments and is a significant component of our annual incentive compensation programs. We believe that this measure is also useful to investors as it is one of the bases for comparing our operating performance with other companies in our industries, although our measure may not be directly comparable to similar measures used by other companies. Because we use operating income before depreciation and amortization as the measure of our segment profit or loss, we reconcile it to operating income, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), in the business segment footnote to our financial statements. This measure should not be considered as a substitute for operating income (loss), net income (loss), net cash provided by operating activities or other measures of performance or liquidity reported in accordance with GAAP.
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Video revenue consists of our basic, expanded basic, premium, pay-per-view, equipment and digital cable services. The increase in video revenue for the interim period from 2003 to 2004 is primarily due to increases in monthly average revenue per subscriber as a result of rate increases in our traditional video service, growth in digital subscribers, and repricing and repackaging of the digital and premium channel services in the Broadband systems. From March 31, 2003 to March 31, 2004, we added approximately 118,500 basic subscribers and 1,056,500 digital subscribers, or a 15.5% increase in digital subscribers. We expect continued growth in our video services revenue.
The increase in high-speed Internet revenue for the interim period from 2003 to 2004 is primarily due to the addition of approximately 1,640,200 high-speed Internet subscribers from March 31, 2003 to March 31, 2004, or a 40.6% increase in high-speed Internet subscribers, offset by a slight decrease in monthly average revenue per subscriber. We expect continued high-speed Internet revenue growth as overall demand for our services continues to increase.
The decrease in phone revenue for the interim period from 2003 to 2004 is primarily as a result of our focus on operating efficiencies to drive profitability in the phone business, rather than focusing on subscriber growth. As a result, from March 31, 2003 to March 31, 2004, our phone subscribers decreased by approximately 171,700 subscribers.
The increase in advertising sales revenue for the interim period from 2003 to 2004 is primarily due to the effects of growth in regional/national advertising as a result of the continuing success of our regional interconnects and a stronger local advertising market.
Other revenue includes installation revenues, guide revenues, commissions from electronic retailing, revenue from our regional programming networks, commercial data revenue and revenue from other product offerings.
The increase in franchise fees collected from our cable subscribers for the interim period from 2003 to 2004 is primarily attributable to the increase in our revenues upon which the fees apply.
Expenses
Total operating, selling, general and administrative expenses increased for the interim period from 2003 to 2004 primarily as a result of increases in labor and other volume related operating expenses associated with the growth in our high-speed Internet and digital cable services. Offsetting these increases were cost efficiencies generated from the integration of Broadband. Additionally, customer service expenses slightly declined because we no longer outsource Broadband's customer service operations.
Consolidated Income (Expense) Items
Interest Expense
The decrease in interest expense for the interim period from 2003 to 2004 is due to our decreased amount of debt outstanding as a result of our debt reduction during 2003. The decrease was offset somewhat by the effects of the write-off of $38 million of unamortized debt issue costs to interest expense in the 2004 interim period in connection with the refinancing of our previously existing revolving credit facilities, as well as to the effects of our adoption of SFAS No. 150, "Accounting for Certain Financial Instruments with Characteristics of both Liabilities and Equity," on July 1, 2003 on a prospective basis. As a result of the adoption of SFAS No. 150, interest expense in the 2004 interim period includes $25 million of dividends on our subsidiary's preferred stock, previously classified as minority interest.
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Investment Loss, Net Investment loss, net for the interim periods includes the following (in millions):
We have entered into derivative financial instruments that we account for at fair value and which economically hedge the market price fluctuations in the common stock of certain of our investments accounted for as trading securities. Investment loss, net includes the fair value adjustments related to our trading securities and derivative financial instruments. The change in the fair value of our investments accounted for as trading securities, with the exception in 2004 of the mark to market adjustments on approximately 116 million shares of our Liberty common shares discussed below, was substantially offset by the changes in the fair value of the related derivatives.
We are exposed to changes in the fair value of approximately 116 million shares of Liberty common stock we hold and account for as a trading security because we have not entered into a corresponding derivative to hedge this market exposure.
We are also exposed to changes in the fair value of the derivative component of the Comcast exchangeable notes we have outstanding since the underlying 30.9 million shares of Comcast Class A Special common stock we hold in treasury are carried at our historical cost and are not adjusted for changes in fair value.
Accordingly, our investment income (loss) is affected by fluctuations in the fair value of both the Liberty common stock and the derivative component of the Comcast exchangeable notes. Investment loss, net for the first quarter of 2004 includes a loss of $29 million, net related to these financial instruments compared to a loss of $197 million in the same quarter of 2003.
Income Tax (Expense) Benefit
The change in income tax (expense) benefit for the interim period from 2003 to 2004 is primarily the result of the effects of changes in our income (loss) before taxes and minority interest.
Minority Interest
The change in minority interest for the interim period from 2003 to 2004 is attributable to the effects of our adoption of SFAS No. 150, upon which we now record our subsidiary preferred dividends, previously included within minority interest expense, to interest expense.
We believe that our operations are not materially affected by inflation.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
We believe that we will be able to meet our current and long-term liquidity and capital requirements, including fixed charges, through our cash flows from operating activities, existing cash, cash equivalents and investments, through available borrowings under our existing credit facilities, and through our ability to obtain future external financing.
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Cash and Cash Equivalents
We have traditionally maintained significant levels of cash and cash equivalents to meet our short-term liquidity requirements. As of March 31, 2004, our cash and cash equivalents were $875 million, substantially all of which is unrestricted.
Investments
We consider investments that we determine to be non-strategic, highly-valued, or both, to be a source of liquidity. As of March 31, 2004, we consider our investments in the following to be potential sources of liquidity:
$1.5 billion in Time Warner Inc. common equivalent preferred stock,
$1.3 billion in Liberty common stock,
21% interest in Time Warner Cable Inc., and
interests in certain cable television partnerships.
We do not have any significant contractual funding commitments with respect to any of our investments.
Refer to Note 5 to our financial statements included in Item 1 for a discussion of our investments.
Available Borrowings Under Credit Facilities
We have traditionally maintained significant availability under our lines of credit to meet our short-term liquidity requirements. On January 8, 2004, we refinanced three of our existing revolving credit facilities with a new $4.5 billion, five-year revolving bank credit facility due January 2009. As of March 31, 2004, amounts available under our lines of credit totaled $4.382 billion. Refer to Note 6 to our consolidated financial statements included in Item 1 for further discussion about our new credit facility.
Financing
As of March 31, 2004 and December 31, 2003, our debt, including capital lease obligations, was $26.626 billion and $26.996 billion, respectively. The $370 million decrease from December 31, 2003 to March 31, 2004 results principally from the effects of our net debt repayments during the first quarter of 2004. Included in our debt as of March 31, 2004 and December 31, 2003 was current portion of long-term debt of $3.386 billion and $3.161 billion, respectively.
Excluding the effects of interest rate risk management instruments, 7.7% and 8.2% of our total debt as of March 31, 2004 and December 31, 2003, respectively, was at variable rates.
We have made, and may from time to time in the future depending on certain factors such as market conditions, make optional repayments on our debt obligations, which may include open market repurchases of our outstanding public notes and debentures.
Refer to Note 6 to our financial statements included in Item 1 for a discussion of our long-term debt.
Statement of Cash Flows
Cash and cash equivalents decreased $675 million as of March 31, 2004 from December 31, 2003. The decrease in cash and cash equivalents resulted from cash flows from operating, financing and investing activities, as explained below.
Net cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations amounted to $774 million for the three months ended March 31, 2004, due principally to our operating income before depreciation and amortization (see Results of Continuing Operations), the effects of interest and income tax payments, and changes in operating assets and liabilities as a result of the timing of receipts and disbursements.
Net cash used in financing activities from continuing operations was $251 million for the three months ended March 31, 2004 and consists primarily of repayments of debt.
During the three months ended March 31, 2004, we repaid $273 million of our debt, consisting principally of:
$260 million of our senior and medium term notes and
$13 million of capital leases and other.
Net cash used in investing activities from continuing operations was $1.198 billion for the three months ended March 31, 2004. During this period, net cash used in investing activities from continuing operations includes capital expenditures of $828 million and additions to intangible assets of $305 million.
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Refer to Note 9to our condensed financial statements included in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for a discussion of recent developments related to our legal proceedings.
A summary of our repurchases during the quarter under the $1 billion repurchase program authorized by our Board of Directors in December 2003, are as follows:
PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
The total number of shares purchased includes approximately 115,000 shares received in the administration of employee equity compensation plans.
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Exhibits required to be filed by Item 601 of Regulation S-K:
Credit Agreement dated as of January 8, 2004 among Comcast Corporation, Comcast Cable Communications Holdings, Inc., the Financial Institutions Party Thereto, JP Morgan Chase Bank, as Administrative Agent, and Issuing Lender, Citibank, N.A., as Syndication Agent, and Bank of America, N.A., Barclays Bank PLC and Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc., as Co-Documentation Agents.
Insurance Premium Termination Agreement between Comcast Corporation and Ralph J. Roberts, effective January 30, 2004.
Employment Agreement between Comcast Corporation and Stephen B. Burke, effective January 1, 2004.
Certifications of Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chief Financial Officers pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Certifications of Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chief Financial Officers pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Reports on Form 8-K:
(i) We filed a Current Report on Form 8-K under Items 5 and 7(c) on February 11, 2004 announcing our proposal to merge with the Walt Disney Company.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
Date: May 5, 2004
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