AOL stock (AOL) is down 13% this morning after its Q1 results missed analyst expectations because of restructuring charges and write-downs at the company.
Its profit fell to $9.3 million (11 cents a share), down from $25.9 million (32 cents a share) this quarter last year.
In a statement, AOL noted that its earnings were down in part due to some $22 million in restructuring charges, along with write-downs.
Analysts expected earnings of 45 cents a share with revenue at $578 million.
In all, its first quarter profit fell 64%.
AOL’s move to keep consumers — and increase its visibility — is being driven with original content on its networks.
Via Reuters:
AOL and a handful of its competitors have started building up original content for their video networks, in an effort to pull in more viewers and grab a larger slice of the ad dollars that currently flow to cable channels. But unlike Yahoo Inc. or Microsoft Corp., which are focusing on TV-like scripted content, AOL’s current strategy has been to work on unscripted, celebrity-driven reality programming and documentaries.
Then there’s the ad side of things.
AOL noted on Tuesday that it bought Convertro for $101 million as mines consumer data via online marketers.
Its push comes as AOL sees ad revenue increasing.
AOL’s advertising revenue jumped 16% to $433.4 million. Third-party network revenue grew 55%, driven by the inclusion of Adap.tv, an ad platform it recently acquired. Excluding that acquisition, third-party revenue rose 18%.
AOL stock is down 16% year to date.
