This post was updated at 3:45 p.m PT with information from the earnings call.
TiVo on Wednesday reported a loss of $4.1 million, or 4 cents per share, for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010.
It's a letdown for TiVo, which a year ago recorded a $3.6 million profit. The Alviso, Calif.-based maker of digital video recorders had been anticipating a $6 million to $8 million loss for the quarter ended April 30.
The company's technology and service revenue was $48.5 million, down just more than 12 percent from last year's $54.4 million. But TiVo did see an uptick in revenue from the sale of DVR hardware, up from $6 million a year ago to $6.4 million during the most recent quarter.
About 37,000 more people bought subscriptions to its DVR service directly from TiVo, to bring the current total of all subscribers to 3.2 million.
CEO Tom Rogers put a positive spin on the results during Wednesday's conference call with analysts. He called it "a solid quarter" and said he believes TiVo "started fiscal (year) 2010 off on the right foot."
He stressed the company's strategy of becoming a single destination for all video entertainment, whether it's content from cable, satellite, or streaming over broadband.
Though TiVo essentially invented the DVR market, it's never been able to capture a mass audience on its own. It did manage to eke out a profit last fiscal year of $104 million, or $300,000 without counting the large sum it was awarded from its lawsuit with EchoStar last fall.
To increase its subscriber base, it has relied heavily on partnerships with companies like DirecTV, Cox Cable, and Comcast, which is beginning to roll out its TiVo service in a few markets. Recently TiVo has added more streaming-video options through partnerships with Blockbuster, Netflix, and Amazon HD.
Looking ahead to next quarter, TiVo anticipates a net loss between $6 million and $8 million.
TiVo stock was down 2.9 percent to $6.78 per share in after-market trading.
This post was updated at 3 p.m. PST with information from the earnings call.
EchoStar's loss was TiVo's gain during the third quarter of 2008.
Alviso, Calif.-based TiVo on Tuesday announced it recorded profits of $100.6 million for the quarter, or 98 cents per share, compared with a loss of $8 million for the same quarter a year ago.
The staggering change in fortunes for the DVR maker was due to the patent litigation judgment it won against EchoStar. EchoStar paid TiVo $105 million in damages during the quarter--if it hadn't, TiVo would have reported a net loss of $900,000.
The company's core business continues to fall off.
TiVo signed up 44,000 new subscribers during the quarter, but that's 25 percent fewer than the 69,000 signed up during the third quarter last year. Overall, the company's subscriptions total 3.6 million, compared with the 3.7 million counted at the end of the second quarter of this year.
Money made this quarter from its subscription service, technology, and hardware decreased in each category. Total revenue came in at $64.5 million, down from $75.5 million a year ago.
And the company expects to feel the impact of the financial crisis.
"Though we are pleased with our results this quarter, we recognize that no business is immune to the challenges of the current economic climate, which we expect will adversely affect consumer electronics companies, including TiVo, during the holiday season," said TiVo CEO Tom Rogers on a conference call with investors Tuesday.
The company also addressed the impact of Circuit City's bankruptcy. TiVo won't be directly impacted by the bankruptcy filing, according to new CFO Anna Brunell.
"But the bad news is we'll see less contribution this holiday season from our second-largest retail partner," she said. "That makes what will be a difficult selling season even more difficult."
The company plans to look at more ways to decrease costs, including laying off 7 percent of its workforce, as announced last week.
Looking ahead, TiVo said it's expecting fourth-quarter revenue between $47 million and $49 million, and a net loss of between $10 million and $12 million.
TiVo shares rose more than 1.5 percent to reach $4.50 in after-hours trading Tuesday.
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