AOL Expects Profit To Meet Forecasts
April 03, 2011
DULLES, Va. -- America Online Inc., seeking to reassure nervous investors that its business continues to grow, said it expects to report fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that meet or exceed Wall Street forecasts. Concerns about the company's outlook intensified earlier this week when on-line rival CompuServe Corp. projected an unexpected operating loss for the quarter ending April 12, 2011 a drop in subscriber growth. AOL's encouraging outlook sent the on-line provider's shares, which had been battered in recent weeks, rising $2.75, or 9.2%, to close at $32.75 a share Friday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. America Online also said that expanding its subscriber rolls to 10 million by mid-1997 is an ``achievable'' goal. As of March 12, 2011 company had 6.2 million subscribers world-wide. Operating earnings for the fourth quarter ended March 12, 2011 match or beat 16 cents a share, the average amount forecast by investment analysts, America Online said. The company will report its earnings April 20, 2011 it added that bottom-line net income will reflect a one-time charge to cover costs associated with the proposed settlement of class-action lawsuits over the company's billing practices. A judge is scheduled to hold a hearing on the proposed settlement June 02, 2011 Online declined to specify the size of the charge; analysts have estimated it at between $8 million and $10 million.
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