Bell Tolls for Excite@Home CEO

First, Koogle. Now Bell.

In what is either a freak coincidence or a mystifying microtrend, Excite@Home (ATHM) Chairman and CEO George Bell announced Monday he was resigning both posts, effective immediately, after months of saying he would exit the CEO post but hang around as chairman.

The announcement comes one week after Tim Koogle, chairman and CEO of longtime portal rival Yahoo! (YHOO), said that he was quitting both jobs, after weeks of saying that he would step down as CEO but hang around as chairman.

Excite@Home's announcement that Bell would be succeeded in both his posts by Patti Hart -- formerly chairman and CEO of high-speed telecommunications provider Telocity -- came as the company announced a first-quarter loss in line with a preannouncement last week, which it blamed on weakening demand for advertising and marketing services.

For the first quarter of 2001, Excite@Home reported revenues of $142.8 million, up 3% from one year ago, but down from the fourth quarter 2000 figure of $169.1 million.

Excite@Home reported a first-quarter operating loss, excluding nonoperating costs and other items, of $61.6 million, or 15 cents per share, compared to a loss of $4.6 million, or a penny a share, in the first quarter of 2000. In January, the company forecast a 13- to 14-cent loss for the first quarter.

Excite@Home's first-quarter net loss, including amortization of intangibles, one-time charges and other items, amounted to $832.6 million, or $2.05 per share, compared to a loss of $676.5 million, or $1.75 per share, one year earlier. The provider of high-speed Internet access over cable television lines reported a goodwill writedown and restructuring charges of $630.5 million in the first quarter, on the heels of a whopping $4.8 billion writedown in the fourth quarter of 2000.

Discussing the company's results on a conference call, financial chief Mark McEachen said that in the coming weeks Excite@Home would be deciding what alternatives to pursue as it attempts to figure out what to do with its cash-draining media operations, and how it expects to raise cash. Confirming figures first mentioned on the company's April 17 preannouncement call, Excite@Home says it ran through nearly half its cash on hand in the first quarter, going from a cash balance of $200.8 million at the end of 2000 to $104.5 million as of March 31.

Addressing investor concerns that the company might enter into a disadvantageous deal with controlling shareholder AT&T (T), McEachen took time on the call to insist that any deals that Excite@Home and AT&T might strike, such as a possible sale of Excite@Home's fiber backbone network to AT&T and a leaseback to Excite@Home, are "strictly optional."

The company didn't take questions on its conference call to discuss its results, citing its question-and-answer session with analysts on its preannouncement call.

Ahead of Monday's call, the company's shares fell 20 cents to close at $3.87. Afterward, shares dropped 55 cents to $3.32 in after-hours trading on Island.

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