4Kids Entertainment Shares Drop On Wider 4Q Loss

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of children's entertainment licensing company 4Kids Entertainment Inc. dropped Monday after the company reported a wider loss in its fourth quarter due to lower licensing revenue and a drop in trading card sales.

Shares sank 44 cents, or 29.7 percent, to $1.04 in afternoon trading. The shares fell to a more than 10-year low of $1.01 earlier in the day. The stock had traded between $1.07 and $25.30 in the past year.

Before the market opened, the company said for the quarter that ended Dec. 31, its loss widened to $19.6 million, or $1.48 per share, compared with a loss of $16.8 million, or $1.26 per share in the year-earlier quarter.

Revenue fell 13 percent to $14.3 million from $16.5 million.

The company said the downturn in the economy and the lack of consumer confidence that started in September hurt its licensing revenue and its trading card game sales in the quarter.

The company added that retailers and distributors reduced, canceled and returned orders of trading cards to cut their inventory.

4Kids also said impairment charges for reclassifying auction rate securities cut into its results.

For the year, the company reported a loss of $36.8 million, or $2.79 per share, compared with a loss of $23.3 million, or $1.77 per share in 2007.

Revenue grew 14 percent to $63.7 million from $55.6 million.

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