Maffei For Liberty

Liberty Media Corp. said on Wednesday that it had selected departing Oracle Corp. CFO Gregory B. Maffei to become its chief executive to take the position of John C. Malone, who will remain as chairman--and, will continue to have a strong influence in guiding the cable giant. Maffei will take over during the second quarter of 2006.

Liberty owns cable networks QVC Inc. and Starz Entertainment Group as well as a large stake in Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. maffei_g.jpgMaffei will also become president, replacing Robert Bennett who had previously announced he is retiring. Maffei also becomes a Liberty director. "I have known Greg for many years and have found him to be one of the most astute financial thinkers I have met," Malone said in the Liberty succession announcement.

Another major announcement was that the company reported a third-quarter loss, as higher expenses and losses from debt and other securities offset revenue growth. Operating costs and expenses grew 13 percent to $1.67 billion, and the company posted a $332 million loss from certain financial instruments. In its earnings report, Liberty posted a loss of $94 million, or 3 cents per share, down from earnings of $372 million, or 13 cents per share, a year ago.

Although revenue grew 13 percent to $1.85 billion from $1.63 billion last year, helped by growth in QVC’s domestic and international revenue, the revenue from Starz remained flat.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected break-even results on revenue of $1.86 billion. The company backed its 2005 guidance for revenue growth at a low double digit percentage for QVC, while hoping to achieve revenue targets between $1 billion and $1.05 billion at Starz.

Last week, Oracle announced Maffei, 45, was leaving as its chief financial officer after just four months on the job at the business software maker. It said he planned to work for another company but did not identify it. Maffei will stay at Oracle till Nov 15, when he hands over the CFO responsibilities to co-President Safra Catz, who served as finance chief for three-odd months earlier this year.