DTVLA Q4 revenues up 23% on the year

DirecTV Latin America (DTVLA) posted revenues of US$1.03bn in the fourth quarter of the year, increasing 23% from US$839mn in the year-ago period, the company said in its earnings statement. DTVLA's Arpu was US$61.12 in Q4, down compared with US$62.67 in the same quarter in 2009. "Arpu declined 2.5% in the quarter primarily due to currency devaluations, particularly in Venezuela," the company said. During the last quarter of the year, DTVLA recorded a net addition of 378,000 subscribers, surging 49% year-on-year. For full 2010, the company's net additions reached 1.2mn, an increase of 76%. "Gross additions in the quarter increased 39% largely due to targeted customer promotions aimed at the middle-market segment in Brazil, as well as continued strong demand for HD, DVR and prepaid services in the region," the company said. Full year revenues for DTVLA increased 25% to US$3.6bn. The operator's capex for full 2010 reached US$857mn, up from US$584mn the previous year. DirecTV owns 93% of Sky Brazil, 41% of Sky Mexico and 100% of PanAmericana, which covers most of the remaining countries in the region. Sky Mexico, whose results are accounted for as an equity method investment and therefore are not consolidated by DTVLA, had some 3.04mn subscribers as of December 31, bringing the total subscribers in the region to 8.85mn. The DirecTV Group's global revenues reached US$6.62bn in Q4, climbing 11% year-on-year. Profits for the quarter reached US$618mn, versus a US$32mn loss one year before.