Liberty Interactive Corp.'s (LINTA, LINTB) second-quarter
operating profit fell 7.6% amid higher expenses, while Liberty
Media Corp. (LMCA, LMCB) logged a surge in operating profit driven
by the acquisition of a controlling interest in Sirius XM Radio
Inc. (SIRI).
Liberty Interactive in 2011 completed a split-off of assets,
including the Starz cable channel, that became known as Liberty
Media Corp. The plan sharpened focus on the growing QVC
home-shopping network, as well as a handful of its e-commerce
businesses.
Liberty Media in January spun off Starz in a move aimed at
freeing up cash to pursue its takeover of Sirius XM. Liberty gave
Sirius a lifeline in early 2009 with several hundred million
dollars in loans; in exchange, Liberty got preferred shares
equivalent to a 40% stake in the company. The Federal
Communications Commission earlier this year also approved Liberty
Media's request for permission to gain effective control of
Sirius.
For the quarter, Liberty Interactive reported an operating
profit of $268 million, compared with $290 million a year earlier.
Revenue rose 1.5% to $2.4 billion, slightly below the $2.44 billion
expected by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Revenue from QVC--its largest business--edged down about 1% to
$2 billion, although it was up about 2% on a currency neutral
basis.
U.S. revenue rose about 3% while international revenue fell
about 6%.
"QVC posted solid results in the U.S., while the international
markets proved more challenging and were negatively impacted by the
currency fluctuations in Japan and the UK," Chief Executive Greg
Maffei said.
Liberty said eCommerce represents 37% of QVC's global revenue,
and of that, 30% of eCommerce orders were from mobile devices.
Overall, Liberty's eCommerce business revenue grew 12% to $439
million, driven by increased marketing efforts that added traffic;
greater conversion resulting from investments in site optimization;
increased shipping charges; and broader inventory offerings.
Operating expenses at Liberty Interactive grew 2.7% to $2.13
billion.
Separately, Liberty Media reported its operating profit was $236
million, compared with $2 million a year earlier. Revenue surged to
$1.08 billion from $135 million. Analysts had expected revenue of
$1.08 billion.
In March, Liberty Media and Chairman John Malone confirmed the
company had agreed to take a roughly 27% stake in Charter
Communications Inc. (CHTR) for $2.62 billion, buying the stake from
three of Charter's top holders, including taking out the entirety
of top holder Apollo Global Management LLC (APO).
Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Liberty has
been trying to interest Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) in a merger
with Charter Communications.
Series A shares of Liberty Interactive closed Monday at $25.22
and were inactive in recent premarket trading, while shares of
Liberty Media closed at $145.31 and were also inactive
premarket.
Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at saabira.chaudhuri@dowjones.com
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