(Sources: Yahoo! Finance)
World Wrestling 4Q Profit Slides 18 Percent, but Still Beats Wall Street Expectations
STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. on Thursday posted a 18 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit, hurt by lower revenue due to fewer televised events during the period.
However, the company still managed to beat Wall Street expectations, and pegged its 2006 results ahead of current estimates. World Wrestling shares climbed 88 cents, or 8.5 percent, to $11.24 during afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Quarterly income fell to $16.1 million, or 23 cents per share, from $19.7 million, or 28 cents, the year before. WWE’s results topped the average estimate of 19 cents per share from analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
Revenue totaled $118.3 million, a decline of 7 percent from $126.7 million a year earlier, with revenue from live and televised events down 4 percent to $97.5 million.
The company said pay-per-view revenue slumped 21 percent to $34.6 million, reflecting only three televised events compared with four events last year. The company’s Backlash event was held May 1 and will be included in first-quarter results, WWE said.
WWE added that sales of branded merchandise also dropped 19 percent to $20.8 million, reflecting sharply lower home-video sales and flat licensing revenues, while publishing revenue and merchandise sales increased slightly.
For the year, earnings fell to $39.1 million, or 56 cents per share, from $48.2 million, or 70 cents, in 2004. Total revenue of $366.4 million declined 2 percent from $374.9 million a year ago.
The company’s annual results still beat analysts’ estimate of 51 cents per share on revenue of $357 million.
Looking forward, WWE forecast 2006 income from continuing operations of $31 million to $34 million, or 44 cents to 48 cents per share, with revenue ranging from $355 million to $370 million.
That compares favorably with the current analyst consensus estimates for a profit of 44 cents per share on $350.1 million in revenue.
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