TiVo Widens Loss

TiVo (TIVO) posted a wider-than-expected loss in the second quarter because of an inventory-related writedown.

The Alviso, Calif.-based digital video-recorder company on Wednesday said it lost $17.7 million, or 18 cents a share, during the quarter, compared with profit of $6.45 million, or 7 cents a share, the year before.

Income included a combined inventory writedown and inventory purchase commitment charge of $11.2 million.

Analysts were expecting a loss of 5 cents a share, excluding the inventory writedown.

Revenue increased to $62.7 million, from $59.3 million for the same period last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting revenue of $58.41 million.

Shares of the company lost 15 cents, or 2.4%, to $6.05 in recent after-hours trading.

The $11.2 million writedown of the parts wasn't anticipated at the time the company stated its fiscal 2008 goals, TiVo said in a statement.

TiVo said that going forward, it "continues to expect that a shift away from hardware subsidies towards a more advertising-centric marketing approach will continue to have a positive impact on the company's financial profile as compared to last year."

For the third quarter, TiVo expects service and technology revenue in the range of $56 million to $57 million and a net loss in the range of $14 million to $17 million.

TiVo-owned subscription gross additions totaled 41,000, compared with 74,000 a year ago, adversely affected "by the pace at which retailers moved to sell high-definition" DVRs, the company said. TiVo added 136,000 new subscribers in the quarter.