Chicago – Playboy Enterprises Inc. (PEI) reported a net loss for the first quarter ended 31 March 2009 of $13.7 million. First quarter 2009 revenues totaled $61.6 million, down $16.9 million from the prior year period, primarily reflecting the outsourcing of operations, asset sales and the effects of the global economic slowdown on advertising and consumer spending. The quarter’s segment loss was $1.3 million versus segment income of $0.1 million last year. First quarter 2009 Playboy magazine revenues fell 16% to $13.5 million compared to last year’s first quarter due to softer circulation and advertising sales. And the company said it expects to report a 39% decline in Playboy magazine advertising revenues in the 2009 second quarter compared to last year. First quarter 2009 domestic TV revenues declined to $13.3 million from $16.5 million. Modest growth in video on demand was more than offset by the loss of revenues related to the studio sale and lower pay-per-view revenues resulting from the continued migration of consumers from linear networks to on-demand programming. In a statement, Jerome Kern, Playboy interim chairman and chief executive officer highlighted the parent company’s cost-cutting moves, noting a 25 percent drop in jobs since October 2008 is yielding annual savings of $18 million. Said Kern, “We are beginning to see the results of the extensive restructuring and cost-reduction work that we began implementing in last year’s fourth quarter. These initiatives allowed us to offset all but $1.4 million of the nearly $17 million revenue decline and led to improved margins in our TV and digital businesses, despite a lower revenue base. In addition to closing the New York office and integrating our print and digital operations, we continue to look for ways to further reduce our cost structure and improve operating efficiencies.”
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