Warner Music posts huge loss

Reuters is reporting that Warner Music, the third largest music company in the world, posted a net loss in its highly important December quarter, due to weak recorded music sales and costs related to a high-end concert promoter it bought last May.

The Christmas holiday season, its fiscal first quarter, Warner posted a net loss of $16 million, equal to 11 cents a share, against a profit of $18 million, or 12 cents a share. Bottom line? Warner only had a profit of a penny a share, way short of the analysts expectations of 10 cents a share.

Those results include an $18 million impairment charge connected to promoter Bulldog Entertainment, which Warner bought in May 2007.

Operating profit fell 45 percent, down to $44 million from $80 million last year.

Although Warner Music had the wildy successful Josh Groban "Noel" cd, the main struggle was with the industry wide slowdown of recorded music, as the popularity of digital music downloads increased.