Satellite TV provider DirecTV Inc. Thursday said that its first quarter earnings nearly tripled as it added customers.

The El Segundo company reported net income of $558 million (59 cents per share), compared with $201 million (20 cents) a year ago. Revenue rose 14 percent to $5.6 billion.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average expected per-share profit of 45 cents on revenue of $5.43 billion.

DirecTV, the nation’s largest satellite TV provider by subscriber base, said it added 100,000 U.S. customers during the quarter. What’s more, the average monthly revenue per subscriber rose more than 6 percent to $85.47, in part due rate increases and greater revenue from subscribers of high-definition TV, digital video recorder and other premium services. The company also benefitted from higher advertising sales.

In Latin America, the company saw revenue rise by 30 percent to $779 million. It added 221,000 customers in the quarter.

The company now has more than 18.6 million customers in the United States and more than 7 million customers in Latin America.

“We’re starting 2010 with record-setting financial results that point to the tremendous operating and financial strengths of our businesses in both the U.S. and Latin America,” said Chief Executive Mike White in a statement.

Shares of DirecTV were up $1.20, or 3.4 percent, to $36.43 in midday trading on the Nasdaq.