AOL Time Warner today announced a net loss of $1.822 billion in the fourth quarter, widening from a year ago but in line with market expectations.
The media-entertainment giant said its operating earnings, excluding one-time items, was 2$.76 billion, or 33 cents a share, in line with estimates.
The company had to take a number of big writeoffs, including a $1.7 billion charge to reflect a decline in the value of its investments.
For the full year, the company's net loss was $4.9 billion, taking into account merger-related costs and a writeoff of $2.5 billion on declining investments. Revenues rose to $10.632 billion in the fourth quarter from $10.231 billion a year earlier.
The group forecast earnings and revenues to be flat in the first quarter from a year earlier as economic weakness continues to weigh on the advertisement business.
'The company's business plan for 2002 assumes no recovery in the economy,' the company said in a statement. 'We will continue, in both our US and international operations, to expand our subscriber base, launch new products and services and sustain the flow of exciting new content,' AOL Time Warner chief executive officer Jerry Levin said in a statement.
On the strategy, Levin said the company continues to focus on expanding its broadband business.
'Building out the broadband market will remain one of our highest priorities and most promising sources of growth, because it will allow us to offer a wide variety of valuable premium services such as on-demand programming and digital music,' said Levin.
