Dish Network stock Monday fell the most in more than three months in Nasdaq trading after losing more subscribers than estimated and posting slower revenue growth.
Fourth-quarter sales rose 1 percent to $2.92 billion, Douglas County- based Dish said Monday in a statement. Analysts had estimated $2.95 billion on average, according to a Bloomberg survey. A year earlier, the company posted 11 percent revenue growth.
Dish lost 102,000 customers in the quarter, five times more than the projection of Pacific Crest Securities Inc. analyst Steve Clement, and in contrast to larger competitor DirecTV Group Inc., which gained 301,000. Dish and DirecTV are vying for customers amid a deepening economic slump that has curbed consumer spending.
Dish shares lost $1.32, or 12 percent, to $9.93 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Its shares have fallen 10 percent this year.
Dish earnings climbed to $217 million, or 48 cents a share, a penny below the average analyst estimate. Profit amounted to $175 million, or 39 cents a share, a year earlier.
The company lost a distribution deal with AT&T Inc., the second- largest U.S. phone company, to DirecTV at the end of January. The partnership was a “substantial contributor” to subscriber gains, Dish said Monday in a regulatory filing.
Last year, Dish spun off its technology and equipment business, EchoStar Corp., to focus on pay TV. EchoStar’s net loss widened to $690 million, or $7.73 a share, from $45 million, or 51 cents a share, a year earlier. Bloomberg News
