Gemstar-TV Guide International reported a 7 percent increase in its third quarter revenue after the stock market closed yesterday.
For the quarter that ended Sept. 30, the company posted revenues of $159.6 million. Operating income was $5 million, compared to operating income of $12.9 million last year. Gemstar-TV Guide said the company’s operating income was impacted by an increase in programming and associated marketing costs at TV Guide Network and a national cross-platform consumer marketing campaign.
The operating costs were partially offset by a 20 percent increase in revenues from the Guidance Technology and Solutions division. The Guidance Technology and Solutions segment posted revenues of $68.3 million, which represented 43 percent of the company’s total revenue.
The growth was primarily from Gemstar-TV Guide’s interactive program guide (IPG) patent licensing revenues, which increased by 30 percent to $40.7 million compared to the same time frame in 2006. The bulk of the IPG revenues came from deals with BSkyB and SkyItalia, as well as an increase in the company’s United States-based cable and satellite licensees’ digital subscribers.
“I am pleased with the continued expansion of our IPG patent licensing both internationally and to new media platforms,” said Gemstar TV Guide’s CEO Rich Battista, in a statement. “To that end, we recently announced new agreements with MediaFlo in the mobile arena, as well as with Sky Italia, Italy’s leading digital TV service, and with three German consumer electronics companies.”
