TiVo 4Q loss widens on higher research and development costs, to miss 1Q Street view

TiVo 4Q loss widens, 1Q to miss Street view

ALVISO, Calif. — Digital video recorder pioneer TiVo Inc. said Monday that its fourth-quarter loss widened as higher expenses, especially in research and development for new products, more than offset an increase in revenue.

Last week, TiVo unveiled its first new DVR in nearly three years, the TiVo Premiere. The new unit, which comes in configurations of 320-gigabyte and 1-terabyte hard drives, more seamless blends broadcast TV and the Internet and signals TiVo’s view of the future of TV.

In the fourth quarter, TiVo lost $10.2 million, or 9 cents per share, compared to a loss of $3.6 million, or 4 cents per share, in the same quarter in the prior year.

Total revenue came to $68.4 million, up from $59.2 million. Service and technology revenue comprised $45.3 million of the total, while hardware revenue took up the rest.

TiVo beat the expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who on average expected the company to lose 12 cents per share and record service and technology revenue of $44.3 million.

Looking ahead, TiVo said it expects to book service and technology revenue of $41 million to $43 million in the first quarter of its fiscal year 2011, far below the $48.8 million expected by analysts. The company forecast a loss of $19 million to $21 million. Analysts were expecting a loss of $5.5 million.

For fiscal 2010, TiVo lost $23.9 million, or 23 cents per share, compared with a profit of $103.6 million, or $1.01 per share, in fiscal 2009. The prior year included about $100 million in damages and interest it received from Dish Network Corp. on a patent-rights case. TiVo had sued Dish in 2004 for infringing on a DVR patent that allows viewers to pause, rewind and replay live TV.

Last week, TiVo also prevailed in a contempt hearing stemming from the patent-rights case and stands to collect about $300 million more in damages and contempt sanctions it has been awarded. Dish had redesigned its technology while the case was going on, but a federal court said even the workaround violated TiVo’s patent. Dish had appealed and lost. Now, the satellite TV operator is asking for a review by the full bench of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington.

Shares of TiVo, based in Alviso, were up 22 cents to $17.28 in after-hours trading.