Comcast Shows a Third-Quarter Gain

Comcast Corp. posted third-quarter net income of $75.6 million, or 8 cents a share, an improvement over its net loss of $106.8 million, or 11 cents a share, for the same period last year. Revenue at the Philadelphia-based cable television system operator was up 12.7% to $2.7 billion for the period.

Comcast also said that it expects to complete its merger with AT&T; Corp.’s cable unit next month. The deal, which the companies value at $47.5 billion, would make Comcast the nation’s largest cable TV provider.

Comcast said its cable subscribers increased by 0.7% to 8.5 million during the third quarter and that cable division revenues grew 12.3% to $1.55 billion. The new AT&T-Comcast; would have 22.3 million subscribers, significantly more than the current leading cable company, AOL Time Warner Inc.