Playboy Enterprises, Inc. announced on August 5 that it had lost $8.7 million during the second quarter this year. The losses were the result of a one-time restructuring charge of $9.1 million related to the closing of the Playboy’s New York office, the company said.
Excluding that charge, Playboy reported a small income of $0.4 million. The company said revenue was down because of eroding advertising sales, a reflection on the weaker economy and the resulting decline in spending by both advertisers and consumers.
The publisher, which faces mounting competition from free Internet pornography, said that its net loss for the second quarter was $8.7 million, or 26 cents a share, compared with a loss of $3.2 million, or 10 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
The company said it expects to report a 47 percent decline in Playboy magazine ad pages in the 2009 third quarter, when the company will publish one fewer issue than in the prior year period.
Analysts had expected a loss of 23 cents a share, according to Reuters estimates.
Total revenue for the second quarter was $62.2 million, down from $73.4 million in the same period last year, and falling short of the $65.7 million expected by Wall Street analysts. Sales in domestic television, its second-biggest segment, fell 14 percent.
Playboy also said its media businesses are likely to face a tough second-half “with fewer near-term opportunities to grow revenues.”
The company does not expect year-on-year revenue or profit improvements in the latter-half of the year, compared with the same period last year.
Playboy Enterprises shares were trading at $2.40 this week, down 52 percent from its 52-week high of $4.99.
