Wednesday, May 7, 2008

WWE's 2008 Q1 Results Up


World Wrestling Entertainment has reported its 2007 First Quarter results for the business. As a business, things have increased positively for WWE, no matter what TV or PPV ratings indicate. Revenue totals were $162.6 million for the quarter ending March 31, 2008, which is higher than last year's $107.4 million. Net income was $19.5 million, or 27 cents per share, while it was $15.1 million or 21 cents a share just a year ago.

Linda McMahon says the following in the results report:

“Our first quarter results reflect the power of our premiere event, WrestleMania® XXIV. Our WrestleMania brand provides us with a unique opportunity to showcase our creative content and marketing talents across a multitude of media outlets,” stated Linda McMahon, Chief Executive Officer. “In addition to posting solid financial results in the first quarter, we are actively expanding our global brand presence through our newly established international offices. During the quarter, we also announced and paid our first quarterly cash dividend at the increased rate of $0.36 per share for all shares not owned by the McMahon family. As we continue to take the next steps forward, we remain focused on delivering value to our shareholders for the long term.”


An interesting bit from the report says that WrestleMania 23 outdid this year's WrestleMania 24 by about $5 million in profit. There was 0.1 million less buys for this year's Wrestlemania PPV. Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s appearance may not have helped boost the revenue from WM24 as much as the brash young boxer was expecting it to. WWE also denied the statement made my Mayweather that he was paid $20 million for his appearance to wrestle against Big Show. This may have been part of the storyline to hype up the match and draw publicity as well. The powerhouse names of Trump-McMahon as well as having Stone Cold Steve Austin at last year's event definitely helped.

Read the full report on WWE's First Quarter Results here at BusinessWire.com.

Various sites have commentary regarding the results:

Doghouse Boxing 's Johnny Benz asks Is Floyd Mayweather Jr. a Huge Liar?

The Baltimore Sun's Kevin Eck discusses how Revenue Trumps Ratings in WWE

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