Gemstar’s 3rd-Quarter Loss Widens

Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc., the publisher of TV Guide, said Tuesday that its third-quarter loss widened to $98.3 million as it wrote down the value of the magazine’s intangible assets.

The net loss increased to 23 cents a share from $18.1 million, or 4 cents, the Los Angeles-based company said. Revenue rose 6% to $175.1 million from $165.1 million.

Gemstar recorded an expense of $131.6 million to write down the value of TV Guide assets. The magazine, which has been losing subscribers and advertisers, appointed a new editor in September. Ian Birch, a former editor of celebrity magazines in Britain, replaced Michael Lafavore, who resigned after 15 months in the position.

“We all have known that they’re struggling with the magazine,” said April Horace, an analyst at Janco Partners Inc. in Greenwood Village, Colo. “They’re trying to come up with a formula that will work.”

Gemstar shares fell as much as 47 cents to $5.50 in extended trading before rebounding to $5.65. Earlier, in regular Nasdaq trading, they slipped 1 cent to $5.97, before third-quarter results were announced. Gemstar had risen 18% this year through Tuesday’s close.

The third-quarter loss compared with expectations that the company would break even on a per-share basis, according to the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Revenue fell short of the average analyst estimate of $177.3 million.

Revenue from Gemstar’s publishing segment declined 11% to $90.6 million.