WWF 4Q beats Street
|
|
June 28, 2001: 10:32 a.m. ET
XFL failure slams net results; WWF sees 8%-10% revenue growth in '02
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc. reported a fiscal fourth-quarter loss Thursday that was a little narrower than Wall Street expected, though it took a big hit on the failure of the XFL football league.
Stamford, Conn.-based WWF said it lost $20.4 million, or 28 cents a share, in the quarter ended April 30. Wall Street analysts polled by earnings tracker First Call expected WWF to lose 30 cents a share. The company earned $10.1 million, or 15 cents a share, a year ago.
Included in this quarter's results was a loss of $37.4 million, or 51 cents a share, from the defunct XFL football league.
The XFL was a joint venture of WWF and NBC Sports, but its combination of flashy graphics, scantily clad cheerleaders and sloppy football failed to capture the nation's imagination, and the league died after its inaugural campaign.
WWF, which recently bought chief competitor World Championship Wrestling -- formerly a unit of CNNfn parent company AOL Time Warner (AOL: up $0.16 to $52.84, Research, Estimates) -- comforted investors with projected 2002 of revenue growth of 8 percent to 10 percent, estimated attendance at wrestling events of 3 million, and 8 million pay-per-view purchases.
WWF (WWF: up $0.31 to $13.05, Research, Estimates) shares began trading Thursday near the low end of their 52-week range.
|
|
|
|
WWF
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
|
|