Playboy Enterprises Inc. reduced its fourth-quarter net loss despite a drop in revenue caused by the sale of the Critics Choice Music catalog last year.
The adult entertainment marketer reported quarterly revenue of $73.5 million, compared with $77.1 million during the same period in 2001. The quarter ended Dec. 31, 2002.
However, the fourth quarter net loss fell to $4 million, compared with $11.7 million during the prior year.
The company also lowered its annual net loss from $33.5 million in 2001 to $17.1 million.
Playboy’s online group suffered a fourth quarter segment loss of $300,000, down from $5.1 million in 2001. The firm attributed the improvement to a 25% increase in revenue—to $9.6 million—combined with cost cutting. Contributing to the revenue boost was an 85% increase in subscription sales.
CEO Christie Hefner said in a statement that the online group expects to report a profit during 2003. She added, however, that "due to severance and other costs associated with the transition of editorial jobs from Chicago to New York, we expect publishing profits to be basically flat year over year."
