Gservo
30th January 2003, 02:55 AM
CAPTAIN OUTRAGEOUS OVERBOARD!
January 29: AOL Time Warner Inc. earned a place in the record books today by posting the largest annual loss in U.S. corporate history. The company said its combined 2002 losses totaled nearly $100 billion. In the final quarter alone, the teetering Toon Titan wrote off $45 billion in losses.
And in an unexpected move that signaled more turmoil at the top of the reeling media conglomerate, Ted Turner announced he would step down as vice chairman before the May shareholder meeting.
Turner, who said he was leaving to devote more time to his philanthropic and other interests, joins Steve Case, Robert Pittman and Gerald Levin; who were all knocked from the top of the corporate heap by the failed AOL TIME WARNER merger. Turner has said he personally lost over $7 billion in the boondoggle.
Analysts said the company had come perilously close to breaking its debt covenants, which require it to maintain $50 billion in equity. According to the report, AOL TIME WARNER finished the year with about $52 billion in equity.
Chief Executive Richard Parsons wasn't able to spin any silver lining after the announcement, saying the company expects meager earnings in the coming year. "We think 2003 will be a challenging year," Parsons told analysts.
FULL STORY: REUTERS (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=580&e=3&cid=580&u=/nm/20030129/bs_nm/media_aoltimewarner_earns_dc)
January 29: AOL Time Warner Inc. earned a place in the record books today by posting the largest annual loss in U.S. corporate history. The company said its combined 2002 losses totaled nearly $100 billion. In the final quarter alone, the teetering Toon Titan wrote off $45 billion in losses.
And in an unexpected move that signaled more turmoil at the top of the reeling media conglomerate, Ted Turner announced he would step down as vice chairman before the May shareholder meeting.
Turner, who said he was leaving to devote more time to his philanthropic and other interests, joins Steve Case, Robert Pittman and Gerald Levin; who were all knocked from the top of the corporate heap by the failed AOL TIME WARNER merger. Turner has said he personally lost over $7 billion in the boondoggle.
Analysts said the company had come perilously close to breaking its debt covenants, which require it to maintain $50 billion in equity. According to the report, AOL TIME WARNER finished the year with about $52 billion in equity.
Chief Executive Richard Parsons wasn't able to spin any silver lining after the announcement, saying the company expects meager earnings in the coming year. "We think 2003 will be a challenging year," Parsons told analysts.
FULL STORY: REUTERS (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=580&e=3&cid=580&u=/nm/20030129/bs_nm/media_aoltimewarner_earns_dc)