PWTorch.com - WWE Q3 RESULTS: WWE reports increase in revenue, but net loss, reports "restructuring charge"

WWE News
WWE Q3 RESULTS: WWE reports increase in revenue, but net loss, reports "restructuring charge"

Oct 30, 2014 - 7:50:35 AM

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By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

WWE reported Third Quarter 2014 revenue of $120.2 million, up six percent from $113.3 million in the prior year third quarter.

However, WWE continued its streak of reporting net losses. For the quarter, WWE reported a Net Loss of $5.9 million, as compared to Net Income of $2.4 million in the prior year quarter.

For the entire year through three quarters, the net loss is $28.5 million, compared to net income of $10.7 through the first nine months of 2013.

The net loss is the result of start-up costs for WWE Network, especially with WWE not yet reaching their break-even point of 1.0 million subscribers.

Specifically, WWE said "the ramp up of WWE Network resulted in a $5.1 million reduction in (operating income) as the growth in subscribers and subscription revenue was more than offset by the loss of pay‐per‐view revenue and increased programming, marketing, and customer service costs."

As a result of the company's 2014 performance, WWE noted they recorded a "one-time pre-tax restructuring charge of $4.2 million" in the quarter. This was comprised of "severance and other costs ($2.1 million recorded in Corporate and Other Expenses, $0.3 million in Digital Media segment expense, and $1.8 million in depreciation expense), and a $4.0 million impairment of an equity investment."

- Concerning the increase in revenue, WWE reported a 7.5 percent increase in revenue from their domestic market. This made up for flat revenue in the Europe/Middle East/Asia, Asia Pacific, and Latin America markets.

According to WWE, the increase was "driven primarily by an increase in Media Division revenues as the ramp up in WWE Network subscription revenue was partially offset by lower revenue from the Company's Pay-Per-View, Television, Home Entertainment, and Digital Media businesses."

More Details to follow...