Warner Music posts wider loss

Warner Music Group Corp. reported a wider fiscal second-quarter loss Tuesday, the result of a decline in revenue and costs of a restructuring that includes eliminating some 400 jobs, or 10% of its workforce.

The New York-based recording company lost $27 million, or 19 cents a share, in the three months ended March 31, compared with a loss of $7 million, or 5 cents, a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items, losses totaled 10 cents a share in the latest quarter.

Revenue fell 2% to $784 million from $796 million in the year-ago quarter. Analysts expected a loss of 9 cents a share on revenue of $738.1 million, according to a Thomson Financial poll.

The company said it expected to record one-time charges of $65 million to $80 million by the end of the fiscal year because of its restructuring plan.

In announcing the plan Tuesday, Warner noted that the job cuts would come from positions related to sales of CDs and other physical formats. But the restructuring is not expected to result in major savings because the company plans to boost hiring in digital music and video.

Warner Music shares fell 16 cents to $17.14.