World Wrestling’s Q2 online sales drop almost 13%

E-commerce sales at World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. were $3.4 million for the second quarter ended June 30, down from $3.9 million in the year-earlier period, as total sales rose 7% to $138.8 million from $129.7 million, the company says.

WWE, No. 370 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, also reports for the first quarter:

• E-commerce revenue was 2.5% of total revenue, down from 3.0% a year ago.
  
• The number of e-commerce orders fell 13% to 62,000 from 71,264 a year ago.
  
• Average revenue per e-commerce order dropped 2.3% to $51.97 from $53.18 a year ago.
  
• Online advertising revenue on WWE.com rose 12.5% to $4.5 million from $4.0 million.
  
• Total net income rose 184% year over year to $19.9 million from $7 million, as profit contribution from the company’s pay-per-view WrestleMania XXV televised event more than doubled to $15 million from the $7 million in profit contributed a year ago by the WrestleMania XXIV event.

For the six months ended June 30, WWE reports:

• E-commerce revenue dropped 14.7% to $6.4 million from $7.5 million in the year-earlier period.
  
• E-commerce revenue was 2.59% of total revenue, virtually flat from 2.57% a year ago.
  
• Total revenue declined 15.6% to $246.6 million from $292.3 million.

“Our work to improve operating efficiency resulted in a dramatic increase in profit margins that has more than offset the softness in revenues from a weak economy and adverse consumer trends,” says Linda McMahon, CEO. “We expect continuing economic uncertainty in the back half of the year,” she adds.