Liberty Media, controlled by billionaire John Malone, said first-quarter operating cash flow at its QVC home shopping channel rose 3 percent as sales missed company goals.
Cash flow rose to $387 million, Douglas County-based Liberty said in a statement. Revenue at QVC, the world’s largest TV retailer, advanced 5 percent to $1.77 billion.
QVC’s U.S. revenue was little changed, while sales rose for the first time in a year in Japan and Germany, excluding currency changes.
Liberty Media, a holding company for Malone’s investments, said Thursday in a regulatory filing that net income jumped to $5.46 billion from $369 million, mostly because of a gain on the sale of Liberty’s 16 percent stake in News Corp. Sales rose 11 percent to $2.35 billion.
“In the U.S., we are disappointed with our sales results,” QVC chief executive Mike George said in a conference call with analysts. The international business is “on the turnaround plan we shared several months ago.”
During the quarter, the company completed its purchase of a stake in DirecTV Group Inc. and issued a new tracking stock, Liberty Entertainment.
Liberty Interactive, tied to QVC and the company’s Internet retailing businesses, rose 4 cents to $15.62 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading.
