WWE announced their first quarter financial results for 2008 earlier today. In a press release issued earlier this morning, WWE announced that revenues totaled $162.6 million in the first quarter of 2008 compared to $107.4 million in the first quarter of 2007. Operating income was $27.1 million compared to the operating income of $20.6 million in the first quarter of 2007. Net income was reported at $19.5 million ($0.27 share) which is also up in comparison to the first quarter of 2007 which showed a net income of $15.1 million ($0.21 per share).
Chief Executive Officer Linda McMahon credited WrestleMania XXIV and global expansion for the solid financial results for the first quarter.
WWE announced that Royal Rumble did 533,000 buys, No Way Out did 329,000 buys, and WrestleMania did 1,058,000 buys. Despite predictions that WrestleMania XXIV would set WWE's record for pay-per-view buys, it did not surpass WrestleMania 23 which did approximately 1.2 million buys. Buys were accountable for $23.8 million in revenue for WrestleMania XXIV in comparison to $24.6 million in revenue which was generated by WrestleMania 23 last year.
You can read WWE's full press release on the first quarter earnings in PDF format at this link.
The Associated Press has an article now online on WWE's first quarter income, click here to read it.
WWE is currently holding a conference call with investors to discuss the results. We will report on any notable remarks.
Richard Reacts: The numbers are up which is a good sign for WWE but I am slightly surprised that WrestleMania XXIV did not break the company's record of 1.2 million PPV buys. No Way Out buys were up significantly from the 218,000 buys that the show did last year so I would look for the Elimination Chamber stipulation to become a staple of the event.
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