Playboy Enterprises Inc., Chicago, reported revenue from its Catalog Group declined 4% while revenue from its Web ventures more than doubled for its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 1998.
The Catalog Group declined to $23.6 million, with a flat operating income of $2 million and a small EBITDA increase to $2.2 million. Lower revenue from the Playboy and Collectors’ Choice Music catalogs were partly offset by revenue from the Spice catalog.
Revenue for Playboy Online rose to $2.3 million in 1998, from $1.5 million in 1997. The group also reported an operating loss of $2.2 million in the fourth quarter of 1998. In 1997, the loss was less than half a million.
Net income for the entire company for the fourth quarter of 1998 was $4.9 million, or $.24 per basic and diluted share. The same period last year broke even. The results include a $4.3 million gain from the sale of PEI’s 20% interest in duPont Publishing Inc. and included for the 1997 quarter, a $1.1 million charge from a change in accounting principle. Revenue for the quarter rose $14 to $92.4 million, from last year’s fourth quarter $81.3 million.
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