Comcast Corp., the No. 1 U.S. cable operator, reported a nearly 9 percent decline in quarterly profit as it absorbed expenses related to its highly anticipated acquisition of NBC Universal.

While costs associated with the deal, including professional fees, undercut the cable company’s overall profit, its revenue rose a higher-than-expected 6 percent as it continued to add Internet and telephone customers.

Comcast said Wednesday that net income fell to $884 million, or 31 cents a share, from $967 million, or 33 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue climbed to $9.53 billion, surpassing the average estimate of $9.29 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Comcast added 118,000 high-speed Internet customers in the period, or about 82 percent more than year-earlier additions. It added 230,000 digital phone subscribers, similar to the number of additions it posted a year earlier.

Comcast hopes to close its purchase of a majority stake in NBC Universal, home of the NBC broadcast network and a suite of cable channels including USA, from General Electric Co. by late this year. The deal is undergoing regulatory review, but once completed will give Comcast the rare position of creating TV shows and delivering them to customers.