WWE Financials: Revenue Down, Vince McMahon Comments

* Revenues totaled $104.2 million as compared to $108.5 million in the prior year quarter.

* Operating income was $5.0 million as compared to $15.9 million in the prior year quarter.

* Net income was $3.5 million, or $0.05 per share, as compared to $10.6 million, or $0.14 per share, in the prior year quarter.

* Operating income was $7.1 million as compared to $21.0 million in the prior year quarter, and Adjusted Net income was $5.0 million, or $0.07 per share, as compared to $14.1 million, or $0.19 per share, in the prior year quarter.

* The decline in earnings, on both an “As Reported” and “Adjusted” basis, was driven by $6.6 million in incremental expenses from the return to a more normalized level of management incentive compensation in the current year quarter compared to a reduced level of management incentive compensation in the prior year quarter

– Vince McMahon offered the following comments on the release of the 3rd …

“In the third quarter, we continued to make important progress on our key strategic initiatives, expanding our content and distribution and enhancing our brand strength. The production and licensing of new programs, including a third hour of Raw, the WWE Main Event™ and WWE Saturday Morning Slam™, as well as the development of online distribution on Hulu Plus exemplify our achievement of these goals. The performance of our new programs, which have attracted an average audience 14% to 50% higher than the viewership of the programs they replaced, demonstrate our ability to build consumer interest, which forms the foundation of our proposed WWE Network.”