|
Martha whips up a profit
|
 |
March 14, 2000: 8:03 p.m. ET
Home décor and advice company uses surge in e-commerce to beat estimates
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Improved television and e-commerce revenue helped Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. post a more than 70 percent increase Tuesday in earnings for the fourth quarter that easily exceeded analysts' estimates.
The New York-based home decorating and advice company posted pro forma net income of $2.4 million, or 5 cents per diluted share, during the quarter, surpassing the $1.39 million, or 3 cents, it earned a year earlier.
Analysts polled by research firm First Call Corp. were expecting profit of only a penny per share. Despite beating estimates, Martha Stewart (MSO: Research, Estimates) shares dropped 1/2 to 25-5/8 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Martha Stewart told CNNfn's Willow Bay on Moneyline that the market may be having difficulty in deciding what category the company really belongs in. (372K WAV or 372K AIFF)
 Much of the company's growth came from its television revenue, which grew nearly 60 percent to $11.4 million, thanks in part to the introduction of "Martha's Kitchen" on the Food Network and its growing Internet and direct commerce division, in which sales jumped nearly 90 percent to $15.1 million.
Publishing remained the company's primary source of revenue. That unit's sales rose 27 percent to $40.6 million during the quarter, helping to push overall revenue up 39 percent to $71 million.
Full-year profit reached $11.7 million, or 24 cents per diluted share, down slightly from the $13 million, or 26 cents, it earned during 1998.
Overall revenue rose 29 percent to $232.3 million as each of the company's four divisions posted double-digit sales growth. Sales were particularly brisk in the Internet and direct commerce unit, where revenue jumped more than 45 percent.
According to Stewart, her company plans to invest heavily in Internet technology in the future. (495K WAV or 495K AIFF)
By year's end, the company said it had registered more than 1 million Internet users and offered more than 1,200 products through its online store. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Martha Stewart Living
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
 |
|
