Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia on Tuesday reported a slightly narrowed loss for the first quarter, but a persistent advertising slump at its magazines and the absence of the daily syndicated television continued to take their toll on revenue.
The company reported a first-quarter loss of $19.2 million, compared with red ink of $19.5 million a year ago. Revenue tumbled more than 13 percent to $38.7 million.
The television division’s weakness proved to be a factor in the overall results. For the quarter, the TV division’s revenue sank 81 percent to $797,000 from a year-earlier figure of $4.2 million. The operating loss for the quarter was $2.2 million, versus $1.9 million a year ago.
The company attributed the decline to the absence of the flagship syndicated TV show, which ended production in September 2004. The company is gearing up to launch a new syndicated show featuring Martha Stewart this fall, with production set to begin sometime in the second quarter.
Separately, the company announced it has struck a multiyear agreement with Warner Home Video to produce a line of DVDs based on the company’s television library. The first set of releases are expected to go on sale in the fourth quarter.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Reports Q1 Loss
Apr 26, 2005 • Post A Comment