World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. on Thursday said its third-quarter profit rose 69 percent, boosted by higher live event revenue, especially from overseas.
For the three months ended Sept. 30, net income jumped to $8.9 million, or 12 cents per share, from $5.3 million, or 7 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.
Revenue rose to $111.3 million, from $108.8 million last year.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected profit of 10 cents per share on revenue of $105.3 million.
WWE said revenue from outside North America increased 17 percent, with an 84 percent jump from Asia Pacific to $12.5 million, and an 82 percent gain in Latin America, to $3.1 million. In North America, revenue slipped 2 percent to $81.3 million.
Live and televised entertainment, the company's biggest segment, saw a 13 percent revenue increase to $77.9 million. Live event revenue rose 34 percent, reflecting higher attendance and more international events.
Pay-per-view contributed $14.5 million in sales.
Consumer products sales, which include home videos, licensing and magazine publishing, dropped 14 percent to $23 million.
Digital media revenue, which includes sales of advertising and products on the company's Web site, slipped 6 percent to $7.4 million.
WWE said separately it expects profit growth up to 20 percent through 2012, but did not offer specific yearly forecasts.
"We believe we can achieve meaningful growth by strengthening our global expansion and television distribution, leveraging our new partnership with Mattel and continuing to improve operating efficiency," Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon said in a statement.
Based on current earnings-per share projections, analysts are expecting 11 percent profit growth for 2009 and 10 percent growth for 2010.
World Wrestling Entertainment shares rose 57 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $14.11 in Thursday trading, as the broader market rallied.
