• by Wayne Friedman , May 7, 2014

DirecTV, in the middle of possible merger talks, scored some middling first-quarter financial results but a higher stock price on Monday.

Revenue climbed 4% to $7.86 billion; analysts were expecting revenues at around $7.92 billion.  Net income declined 18% to $568 million, mostly due to currency changes in Venezuela.

In the U.S., DirecTV’s revenue was 5% higher to $6.09 billion.

It added 12,000 net subscribers, now totaling 20.27 million, versus a 21,000 net gain in the first quarter of 2013. Average monthly revenue per subscriber rose to $100.16 from $96.05 versus the same period a year ago.

In Latin America, which represents a healthy chunk of its business, revenue was at $1.72 billion -- virtually the same as its $1.73 billion level for the first three months of 2013. It had 361,000 net subscribers, now totaling 11.9 million. And for its Sky Brasil business, it added 161,000 customers, to a total of 5.48 million. Revenue there slipped to $939 million from $965 million -- but excluding currency changes, it rose 15% during the period.

On the day when major stocks had some heavy losses, DirecTV rose on Monday 2.4% to close at $81.74.

Earlier this month, reports surfaced that AT&T was in talks with DirecTV about a possible acquisition of the company.

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