Net Loss Widens at Playboy

CHICAGO: Playboy Enterprises’ first quarter results show a $13.7 million loss for the period, up from $4.2 million last year, on revenues that were down by 22 percent to $61.6 million.

The quarter’s results included $3.2 million in restructuring charges and an impairment of $5.5 million, resulting in the increased net loss. Announcing the results, the company’s interim chairman and CEO, Jerome Kern, noted: "We are beginning to see the results of the extensive restructuring and cost-reduction work that we began implementing in last year’s fourth quarter. These initiatives allowed us to offset all but $1.4 million of the nearly $17 million revenue decline and led to improved margins in our TV and digital businesses, despite a lower revenue base. In addition to closing the New York office and integrating our print and digital operations, we continue to look for ways to further reduce our cost structure and improve operating efficiencies."

In the entertainment segment, revenues were down from $32.7 million to $26.2 million, but operating income rose from $2.3 million to $3 million, thanks to a cost-reduction effort. The 20-percent fall in revenues was primarily due to the sale of the Andrita television studio assets in 2008 and the effects of a stronger U.S. dollar on international TV revenues, which were $11.3 million in the quarter. U.S. TV revenues declined to $13.3 million from $16.5 million.