Satellite TV provider DirecTV Group said growth in Latin American countries such as Mexico and Brazil helped boost its first quarter profit nearly 21 percent.

The El Segundo company, which is considered the nation’s largest satellite-TV service provider, on Thursday reported net income of $674 million (85 cents per share), compared with $558 million (60 cents) a year earlier. Revenue rose 13 percent to $6.32 billion.

Adjusted for one-time items, including the sale of its 5 percent stake in the Game Show Network, DirecTV had slightly lower per-share profit of 83 cents. That still beat the Wall Street consensus as determined by Thomson Reuters, which expected 71 cents profit on revenue of $6.23 billion.

The company said it added 427,000 subscribers during the quarter in Latin America, and 184,000 subscribers in the United States. DirecTV is marketing heavily in Brazil, where it launched a marketing campaign featuring Zico, a well-known soccer player there.

“Building on the momentum of one of our best years ever, DirecTV delivered another strong quarter of operating and financial results,” Chief Executive Mike White said in a statement.

Shares were up 79 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $49.29 in midday trading on the Nasdaq.