TiVo revenue up 85 percent; loss narrows

Digital video recording pioneer TiVo narrowed its loss, posting fourth-quarter revenue that was up 85 percent, as it announced plans to double the number of its subscribers.

The San Jose, Calif.-based company said revenue for the quarter ending Jan. 31 was $42.6 million, compared with $23 million in the same period a year ago. The company had a quarterly net loss of $12.4 million, or 18 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $32.5 million, or 56 cents a share, last year.

Analysts surveyed by First Call were expecting a loss of 18 cents per share.

For the year, TiVo's revenue was $141 million, compared with $96 million last year. Net loss for the year was $32 million, or 48 cents per share, compared with $82.3 million, or $1.61 per share, in 2003.

TiVo also announced a $50 million growth plan aimed at doubling its subscription base and reaching sustained profitability by the end of fiscal year 2006.

"In view of these record results, acceleration in the market and the strongest cash balance we've had in three years, we believe the time is right to take advantage of the exciting growth opportunities that lie ahead of us," Mike Ramsay, chief executive of TiVo, said in a statement. "We are investing in subscriber acquisition to significantly build subscription and revenue growth and to drive sustainable profitability by the end of fiscal year 2006."

The company added a record 330,000 subscriptions to its digital video recorder service in the fourth quarter, roughly triple the number from a year ago. About 200,000 came from partner satellite provider DirecTV. TiVo's total number of subscribers is 1.3 million.

TiVo ended the fiscal year with $143.2 million in cash, its strongest cash position in more than three years.