Logo

Gemstar-TV Guide Narrows Its Q1 Loss

May 5, 2005  •  Post A Comment

Gemstar-TV Guide International on Thursday reported a narrowed first-quarter loss, though strong results at its television operation failed to make up for revenue declines in the company’s publishing and consumer-electronics licensing units.

The Los Angeles-based company reported a loss of $3.7 million, compared with red ink of $39.8 million a year ago. Revenue fell 9 percent to $175.4 million.

Much of the decline was the result of weak performance at its publishing unit, as well as a sharp decline in revenue at the company’s consumer-electronics licensing unit, which faced difficult year-over-year comparisons because of a one-time settlement received in the 2004 quarter.

Those two factors proved to be too much for the company’s television unit, which recorded a 54 percent surge in revenue due to higher subscription and licensing revenue at programming guide service TV Guide Interactive and higher advertising revenue at TV Guide Channel.