TiVo’s loss shrinks in quarter as sales jump
SAN JOSE — TiVo Inc. posted a narrower third-quarter loss Wednesday as the maker of digital video recorders gained a modest number of new subscribers amid tough competition.
The Alviso-based company reported a loss of $11.1 million, or 12 cents a share, for the three months that ended Oct. 31. In the same period last year, TiVo’s net loss was $14.2 million, or 17 cents.
Revenue climbed to $65.6 million, up from $49.6 million a year earlier. Service and technology revenue, which excludes hardware sales, rose 22% to $52.6 million.
Analysts, on average, had expected a loss of 15 cents a share and service and technology revenue of $54.7 million, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.
TiVo said its subscriber total grew to 4.4 million in the quarter, up 11% from a year earlier.
TiVo shares Wednesday rose a penny to close at $6.29. They fell 30 cents in extended trading after the release of the results.
The company projected a net loss of $33 million to $38 million in its fiscal fourth quarter because of greater hardware rebates in the holiday shopping season. It expects service and technology revenue of $54 million to $55 million.
TiVo, which has yet to become profitable, introduced a series of features in the last year to compete against rival video-recorder offerings from cable and satellite TV providers.
“Given our efforts to differentiate TiVo, we are pleased that we were able to build momentum relative to last year,” said Tom Rogers, TiVo’s chief executive, citing stronger growth in the latest quarter compared with a year earlier in the number of subscribers using stand-alone TiVo machines.
The digital video recorder pioneer is also locked in a patent dispute with EchoStar Communication Corp., operator of the Dish satellite TV network.
In April, a federal jury found that Englewood, Colo.-based EchoStar made and sold recorders that infringed on TiVo’s patented technology for pausing live TV and for recording one show while watching another.
The trial judge ordered EchoStar to pay $89.6 million in damages -- more than the $74 million the jury had awarded -- but the order was put on hold pending an appeal.
