Playboy Reports 3rd Quarter Results

[gonzo]

CHICAGO — Playboy Enterprises, Inc., announced a net loss of $5.2 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 after $6.3 million in restructuring charges and provisions for reserves. Excluding those charges, the company reported net income of $1.1 million, which compares to net income of $2.6 million in the third quarter last year.


Third quarter 2008 revenues were $70.4 million, down from $82.8 million last year, in part reflecting the company’s decisions to sell its television studio assets and outsource its e-commerce operations. Lower Corporate Administration and Promotion expense and improved performance in the Licensing and Publishing Groups were offset by lower Entertainment Group results.

“We were pleased to return the company to profitability, excluding charges and reserves, but we can do better," PEI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Christie Hefner said. "We believe that our focus on growing our licensing business, creating content for use on integrated media platforms and streamlining our operations will enable us to navigate through these difficult times and produce profitable growth next year.
"Early next year, a new Playboy.com website will debut that is more closely integrated with the magazine, and we expect to see growth in our total print and online audience and ad sales as a result."

Third quarter 2008 Playboy TV revenues rose both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter. However, the sale of the Andrita television studio assets led to a decline in third quarter domestic TV revenue to $14.6 million compared to $17.6 million last year. Also, continued consumer migration from pay-per-view to the video-on-demand platform led to lower movie network revenues.

Other revenues were also down in the quarter in part due to a decrease in sales of DVDs. The company recently announced that it plans to exit that business.

The Publishing Group reported a segment loss of $1.3 million in the 2008 third quarter, an improvement from the $1.4 million loss reported in the prior year. Although Playboy magazine advertising and circulation revenues were down in the quarter, reductions in marketing, editorial and subscription collection costs more than offset the revenue decline.
The Licensing Group reported third quarter 2008 segment income of $6.7 million, a 5 percent increase compared to last year. Total consumer products revenues were up 7 percent year-over-year, led by a 12 percent increase in royalties from apparel and accessories.

As previously announced, the 2008 third quarter results included restructuring expense of $2.2 million as well as a total of $4.1 million in provisions for reserves related to a receivable from the sale of an asset and to archival materials. There were no comparable expenses in last year’s third quarter.
The complete report is available at the Playboy corporate website

http://www.xbiz.com/news/101422

[TheEnforcer]

I believe Playboy is doing itself good with the changes and really starting to adapt.

[Toby]

Originally Posted by TheEnforcer

I believe Playboy is doing itself good with the changes and really starting to adapt.

Yes, but did they wait too long? Time will tell.

[RawAlex]

Originally Posted by TheEnforcer

I believe Playboy is doing itself good with the changes and really starting to adapt.

With a little more effort, they will leave the 60s behind and maybe make it up to the 90s.

With a back catalog of content, and a branding like they have, they should never be losing money.

[TheEnforcer]

Maybe so but it' not unusul for stuff like that to happent o older companies. good thing i they are changing and it look like they will weather the storm and come out on the other end looking quite good if they keep this up.

[DragonKing]

With things as horrible as they are economy /employment wise, only true niche fetish sites will float easily through this!

[sexandcash]

wow...poor playboy
they are just legends...
I really hope Hef doesn't die.,...that man is king

[RawAlex]

No entirely relevant, but Lensman announced yesterday that he is leaving Playboy / GFY / online stuff and "retiring".

Something about sinking ship comes to mind.

[gonzo]

LOS ANGELES — Joe Lensman has left Playboy Enterprises Inc. and Eric Matis has been named his successor to run Playboy Webmasters, message board GFY.com and RealityCash.


Lensman’s departure is effective today. Through a spokesperson, Lensman declined to be interviewed by XBIZ.

But Matis told XBIZ that his predecessor has decided to go into a different direction and wasn’t forced out.

“Joe has decided that it is time for a change,” Matis said. “He was not forced out — it is completely amicable. He is going to take some time off, evaluate what direction he wants to go, and them make a move — but he will not be coming back to adult.”
Matis will be consulting across all Playboy online media properties in addition to his duties of running GFY, RealityCash and Playboy Webmasters.

http://www.xbiz.com/news/102709

[TheEnforcer]

Getting out of adult certainly isn't a bad idea with the way the biz has been going lately.

[ali25extreme]

Originally Posted by TheEnforcer

Getting out of adult certainly isn't a bad idea with the way the biz has been going lately.

It is not just the adult biz that is hurting..no matter where you go..you are going to find the same problems elsewhere. We just need to learn to adapt to the way things are now and use different techniques then from before. Harder work will pay off in the end and those that have worked for it will be the ones that get the pay off in the end. It is only a matter of time and dedication to your business.
I hate to think people are going to throw in the towel just because they have to work harder for it. I believe that many have been spoiled in the past when the money seemed to roll in on a daily basis. I myself am included in on this. Just my 2 cents!

[tony404]

Originally Posted by RawAlex

No entirely relevant, but Lensman announced yesterday that he is leaving Playboy / GFY / online stuff and "retiring".

Something about sinking ship comes to mind.

I wondered was it his choice or their choice.

[RawAlex]

Well, a couple of ways to read it, especially the part about "he will not be coming back to adult". Either he is tired of the porn world (like any other job, do it long enough and you can get bored) or that he has a non-compete that would eliminate him from the entire industry for a long period of time.

I am also wondering if there was a contract clause that came with the purchase by playboy of the online stuff a few years back. Maybe that clause matured and came to an end, combined with some sort of non-compete for the future. Either way, he made a butt load of money and can now move on to other things (even if that just means getting up late and doing whatever the heck you want).

[WebBilling.com]

Yep - all of the above, but I think 2009 might just be the year it all comes back together for the Rabbit