Comcast 2008 Annual Report Download - page 34

facility due 2013 relates to leverage (ratio of debt to operating
income before depreciation and amortization). As of December 31,
2008, we met this financial covenant by a significant margin. Our
ability to comply with this financial covenant in the future does not
depend on further debt reduction or on improved operating
results.
Share Repurchase and Dividends
As of December 31, 2008, we had approximately $4.1 billion of
availability remaining under our share repurchase authorization. We
have previously indicated our plan to fully use our remaining share
repurchase authorization by the end of 2009, subject to market
conditions. However, as previously disclosed, due to difficult
economic conditions and instability in the capital markets, it is
unlikely that we will complete our share repurchase authorization
by the end of 2009 as previously planned.
Share Repurchases
(in billions)
$2.3
$3.1
2007
2006
$2.8
2008
Our Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.0625 per share
for each quarter in 2008 totaling approximately $727 million. We
paid approximately $547 million of dividends in 2008. We expect
to continue to pay quarterly dividends, though each subsequent
dividend is subject to approval by our Board of Directors. We did
not declare or pay any cash dividends in 2007 or 2006.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities consists primarily of cash paid
for capital expenditures, acquisitions and investments, partially
offset by proceeds from sales of investments.
Capital Expenditures
Our most significant recurring investing activity has been capital
expenditures in our Cable segment and we expect that this will con-
tinue in the future. A significant portion of our capital expenditures is
based on the level of customer growth and the technology being
deployed. The table below summarizes the capital expenditures we
incurred in our Cable segment from 2006 through 2008.
Year ended December 31 (in millions) 2008 2007 2006
Customer premises equipment(a) $3,147 $3,164 $2,321
Scalable infrastructure(b) 1,024 1,014 906
Line extensions(c) 212 352 275
Support capital(d) 522 792 435
Upgrades (capacity expansion)(e) 407 520 307
Business services(f) 233 151 —
Total $5,545 $5,993 $4,244
(a) Customer premises equipment (“CPE”) includes costs incurred to connect our
services at the customer’s home. The equipment deployed typically includes stan-
dard digital set-top boxes, HD set-top boxes, digital video recorders, remote
controls and modems. CPE also includes the cost of installing this equipment for
new customers as well as the material and labor cost incurred to install the cable
that connects a customer’s dwelling to the network.
(b) Scalable infrastructure includes costs incurred to secure growth in customers or
revenue units or to provide service enhancements, other than those related to
CPE. Scalable infrastructure includes equipment that controls signal reception,
processing and transmission throughout our distribution network, as well as
equipment that controls and communicates with the CPE residing within a
customer’s home. Also included in scalable infrastructure is certain equipment
necessary for content aggregation and distribution (video on demand equipment)
and equipment necessary to provide certain video, high-speed Internet and digital
phone service features (e.g., voice mail and e-mail).
(c) Line extensions include the costs of extending our distribution network into new
service areas. These costs typically include network design, the purchase and
installation of fiber-optic and coaxial cable, and certain electronic equipment.
(d) Support capital includes costs associated with the replacement or enhancement of
non-network assets due to technical or physical obsolescence and wear-out.
These costs typically include vehicles, computer and office equipment, furniture
and fixtures, tools, and test equipment.
(e) Upgrades include costs to enhance or replace existing portions of our cable net-
work, including recurring betterments.
(f) Business services include the costs incurred related to the rollout of our services to
small and medium-sized businesses. The equipment typically includes high-speed
Internet modems and phone modems and the cost of installing this equipment for
new customers as well as materials and labor incurred to install the cable that
connects a customer’s business to the closest point of the main distribution net-
work.
Comcast 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K 32