• Mediaweek, Thursday, August 6, 2009 10:10 PM

Comcast reported a 53% increase in second-quarter profit, with a boost in net income to $967 million, up from $632 million in the year-ago period. The company's performance over the last three months outstripped analysts' expectations. Total revenue grew 4.5% to $8.94 billion, beating Wall Street projections of $8.86 billion.

Despite the strong Q2 numbers, a faltering advertising marketplace continued to nibble at Comcast's fundamentals. Comcast CFO Mike Angelakis, says, "Our local cable ad revenues declined 20% this quarter, and we are not seeing any signs of recovery."

Comcast's networks unit, which includes the cable channels E!, Style, G4, Versus and Golf Channel, also took a hit. The programming division saw a 7% decline in advertising revenue in the second quarter. The good news: national and local ad sales account for just 5% of Comcast's total intake.

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