Cable company Charter reports smaller loss in second quarter

ST. LOUIS -- Charter Communications Inc., the country's fourth-largest cable-TV provider, on Tuesday reported a smaller loss for the second quarter, helped by growth in broadband and small-business services.

The St. Louis-based company said it lost $83 million, or 84 cents per share, in the April to June period, compared with a loss of $107 million, or 98 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue grew 5.2 percent to $1.88 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet were on average expecting $1.87 billion in revenue.

Charter lost 72,000 TV customers in the quarter, while adding 37,000 broadband customers and 12,000 phone customers.

Its Class A shares fell 38 cents to $77.21 in midday trading Tuesday after falling as low as $73.52 earlier in the session. Charter shares have rallied strongly in the last year, however, nearly doubling in value from the 52-week low of $41.33 hit a year ago.