ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, August 10, 1996 TAG: 9608120040
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY
America Online Inc., which left more than 6 million customers unplugged Wednesday because of a technical glitch, has reported record 1996 revenues.
For the year ended June 30, AOL passed the billion-dollar mark, nearly tripling to $1.1 billion from $394.1 million in fiscal 1995.
The company, which is based in Chantilly, Va., said its fourth-quarter results set records for revenues, gross profit margins and earnings per share from operations.
In the fourth quarter, AOL earned $21 million, or 19 cents per share, on revenues of $334.5 million, which compares with net income of $5 million, or 6 cents per share, a year earlier when revenues totaled $151.9 million. Final reported fourth-quarter net income of $16.1 million, or 14 cents per share, reflects a special charge of $8 million in connection with the settlement of charges related to past billing practices.
AOL's system crash this week was as impressive as its fiscal showing. For 19 hours, until 10:45 p.m. Wednesday, the 6.3 million subscribers couldn't get on line for mail or surfing.
Each subscriber will get a one day's rebate on the next bill, an AOL spokeswoman said Thursday. Since most subscribers pay $9.95 per month, the rebate is worth 32 cents to the customer and a $2 million loss for AOL.
LENGTH: Short : 32 linesby CNB