Playboy Shows Profit; Exec Goes to Midway

Playboy Enterprises Inc. earned $632,000 in the first quarter after 16 straight losses, a boost attributed to higher sales of sexually oriented material on the Web. Net income was 2 cents a share, compared with a net loss of 38 cents, or $9.4 million, a year ago, Chicago-based Playboy said in a statement. Sales rose 12% to $74.3 million.

Playboy shares rose $1.48, or 15%, to $11.43 on the NYSE.

Separately, Midway Games Inc., maker of the Mortal Kombat video games, hired David Zucker, president and chief operating officer of Playboy for the last year, as president and chief executive. Zucker replaced CEO Neil Nicastro, who will remain chairman of Midway.