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RealNetworks reports big loss, names John Chapple to board
Revenues dipped and losses rose at RealNetworks during the first quarter, but CEO Rob Glaser said the company showed resiliency amid "the deepest recession in decades." The Seattle online distributor of games and music posted a net loss of $12.1 million, which compared to net income of $2.4 million for the same period last year.
Revenues declined five percent to $140.8 million. The company's technology products and services and media software and services groups each saw double digit declines in revenue, while online music revenues rose 16 percent to $44 million.
Real remains in a strong financial position with cash and short term investments of $376.5 million -- just above its market value of $354 million.
Shares lost nearly three percent earlier today, but bounced back one percent in after hours trading.
In addition to the earnings news, RealNetworks also announced that Verdiem CEO Jeremy Jaech was stepping down from the board. He will be replaced by John Chapple, a former wireless executive who now runs the Seattle area private equity fund Hawkeye Investments.
Chapple, the former CEO of Nextel Partners, serves on the board of Yahoo and was rumored earlier this year to be a candidate for the top post of the Internet company.
Due the overall problems in the economy, Real did not provide future guidance for its business. However, the company said that it expects "2009 to be a challenging year for consumer spending, online advertising and corporate infrastructure spending."
About John Cook
John Cook is co-founder and executive editor of TechFlash. He has been covering the technology beat for nearly a decade, writing about startups, entrepreneurs and venture capital, most recently serving as a reporter/blogger at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
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