Focus Media Holding Ltd. (FMCN)

[mlkrborn]

FMCN up 7.75% in Pre-market! 17-Mar-10 08:26 am
NEW YORK (AP) -- China's Focus Media Holding Ltd. said Tuesday that a drop in one-time expenses helped narrow its fourth-quarter loss.

The company, which runs advertising networks, posted a net loss of $52.5 million, or 39 cents per share, for the quarter that ended Dec. 31. That compares with a loss of $802.5 million, or $6.24 per share, a year earlier.

The most recent quarter included lower one-time charges to account for the falling value of its assets. Excluding one-time items, Focus Media said it would have earned $34.7 million, or 26 cents per share, down from a profit of $50 million, or 39 cents per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude special items, expected Focus to report earnings of 21 cents per share.

Revenue fell 8 percent to $144.3 million, better than the $131.8 million analysts forecast.

For the full year, Focus Media's loss shrank to $208.8 million, or $1.61 per share, from $770.7 million, or $5.98 per share.
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