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World Wrestling Entertainment 1Q Profit Falls

The Associated Press

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. said Thursday that its first-quarter profit fell 47 percent, mainly due to the timing of a "WrestleMania" event whose revenue will be included in the sports entertainment company's second quarter.

For the quarter that ended March 31, WWE earned $10.3 million, or 14 cents per share, compared with $19.5 million, or 27 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

The results fell a penny short of what analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected.

Revenue slid to $107.8 million from $162.6 million last year; analysts were expecting $120.3 million in revenue.

WWE said that live and televised entertainment revenue fell to $64.1 million from $99.8 million last year. The year-ago quarter included $31.3 million in revenue from the company's "WrestleMania XXIV" event, but this year the "WrestleMania XXV" event occurred on April 5, so it will be included in WWE's second-quarter results.

Consumer products revenue declined 24 percent to $33.1 million, while revenue from WWE.com and WWEShop dropped 15 percent to $6.9 million. Revenue from the company's WWE Studios business fell 67 percent to $3.7 million.

WWE shares fell 50 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $11.22.