AOL Posts $1 Bil. Loss of Writedowns, Lower Sales

Internet company AOL Inc. said Wednesday a $1.4 billion accounting charge pushed the company to a $1 billion-plus net loss in the second quarter.

The company is in the midst of a turnaround effort under CEO Tim Armstrong, who is looking to shift AOL from relying on a shrinking dial-up Internet business to finding growth in online ad sales.

But since splitting from Time Warner Inc. in December, the company has shown few concrete signs of progress.

The latest quarterly results showed advertising revenue fell at an even quicker rate than in the first quarter. And its subscription dial-up Internet business continued to erode.

The company said it lost $1.06 billion, or $9.89 per share, in the April-June period. The loss came primarily because of write-downs on the sale of social networking site Bebo and declines in AOL’s share price.

AOL had reported net income of $90.7 million, or 86 cents per share, in the second quarter a year ago.

Revenue fell 26 percent to $584.1 million from $791.5 million a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected higher revenue of $602.1 million, on average.

Advertising revenue fell by 27 percent to $296.9 million. Subscription revenue also fell 27 percent to $260.2 million.

NEW YORK (AP)