Liberty Media Revenue Down 52 Percent in Fourth Quarter

Liberty Media's revenues sank 52 percent to $467 million in the fourth quarter.

The company has had an eventful last few months -- separating from premium TV arm Starz, gaining control over SiriusXM and increasing its stake in LiveNation.

On Wednesday, after the market close, Liberty reported numbers that were down across the board. Besides revenue, which was down sharply from $973 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, the company's operating income decreased to $25 million, a 91 percent drop-off from the previous year.

Liberty also announced results for the full year. Revenue decreased 34 percent to $2 billion.

The company attributed the sharp decrease to a one-time recognition of deferred revenue and costs at TruePosition, its location technology division. The company also included in its results the financial performance of Starz, which was split after the year ended. Before the separation, Starz contributed $423 million in revenue (a 2 percent decline) for the quarter and $1.6 billion in revenue (a 1 percent increase) for the year.

Liberty CEO Greg Maffei emphasized the positives of where the company was heading.

"We were pleased to receive approval from the FCC for de jure control of SiriusXM and subsequently increased our ownership interest above 50%," he said in a statement. "SiriusXM again posted strong results and ended the year with almost 24 million subscribers. We increased our ownership stake in Live Nation and are encouraged by the growth in their ticket sales for 2013. At Barnes & Noble, we were pleased by the strategic investment by Pearson in NOOK Media."