World Wrestling takes a Q3 sales hit

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. posted decreases in online and overall sales for the third quarter.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, World Wrestling, No. 492 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 guide, reported:

• E-commerce revenue decreased 15.6% to $2.7 million from $3.2 million in the third quarter of 2011.
• Total sales were $104.2 million, down by 4.0% from $108.5 million in the prior year quarter.
• Net income was $3.5 million, a 67.0% decrease from $10.6 million.

Online sales accounted for 2.6% of total sales in the quarter, compared with 2.9% a year ago.

WWE says the decrease in e-commerce sales stemmed from a 21% decline in the number of orders placed in the quarter. The company did not say why online orders fell.

For the first nine months:

• E-commerce sales decreased 5.3% to $8.9 million from $9.4 million in the same period of 2011.
• Total sales dipped by 0.6% to $368.9 million from $371.0 million.
• Net income was $30.8 million, down 8.1% from net income of $33.5 million in the prior year period.

Online sales accounted for 2.4% of total sales in the first nine months of 2012 compared with 2.5% in the same period last year.