Bottom-line net profit fell to 51 million euros ($69 million) from €354 million in the same period a year earlier, on sales that dropped by 2 percent to €8.96 billion, a company statement said.
In March, Bertelsmann and the music company EMI settled a long-running legal battle over Napster, in which the German group had invested millions of dollars in 2002, in the hope of turning it into a legitimate, profitable subscription service.
Napster eventually went bankrupt the same year, but its brands and logo were acquired by Roxio and the service, named Napster 2.0, was relaunched in 2003.
Financial terms of Bertelsmann's settlements, which terminated one of several lawsuits for copyright infringement, were not disclosed, but Bertelsmann wrote off €70 million in the first quarter in connection with the legal actions.
On Tuesday, the statement quoted Bertelsmann chairman and chief executive Gunter Thielen as saying: "We are pleased to have arrived at important out-of-court settlements in connection with Napster, which eliminates a potential significant risk for Bertelsmann's future."
The group posted a slight increase in operating profit, which gained 1.8 percent to €714 million from €701 million in the same period, a year earlier.
Chief financial officer Thomas Rabe stressed: "We feel we are on the right track and can confirm our positive forecast for the year."
The group cut its overall debt to around €6.59 billion, he added.
© 2007 Agence France-Presse
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