Cablevision reports first-quarter net income of $44.6 million

Cablevision Systems Corp. Monday reported first-quarter net income of $44.6 million.

On a per-share basis, the Bethpage-based company said it had net income of 16 cents. Earnings, adjusted to account for discontinued operations, were 20 cents per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 17 cents per share.

A year earlier, Cablevision earned $89.8 million, or 34 cents a share. In the year-earlier period, Cablevision's earnings were boosted by an income tax benefit of $26.9 million. In the quarter just ended, it had an income tax expense of $37.9 million.

The cable company posted revenue of $1.61 billion in the latest quarter, which met Street forecasts. Cablevision shares rose 5 cents to close at $20.44 Monday.

Video customers declined by 28,000 in the quarter to 2.65 million. High-speed data customers rose 7,000 to 2.77 million.

Shares of Cablevision, which owns Newsday, have declined 1 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen more than 2 percent. The stock has increased 22 percent in the past 12 months.

-- AP with Newsday staff