|
Terra Lycos beats Street
|
 |
February 1, 2001: 12:34 p.m. ET
Spanish Internet outfit exceeds estimates as company's CEO resigns
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Spanish Internet company Terra Lycos on Thursday reported a fourth-quarter loss that was narrower than expected and confirmed that its chief executive has stepped down from his post.
Shares of Terra Lycos (TRLY: Research, Estimates), which was created after the October merger of Web portal Lycos and Spanish Internet services provider Terra Networks, fell 50 cents to $15.81 ahead of the news that Davis was resigning, which was reported in several newspapers earlier in the day.
Separately, Davis said he would join venture capital firm Highland Capital Partners.
According to a report in Thursday's edition of the Wall Street Journal, Davis, who shared control of the merged entity with Terra Lycos' Chairman Joaquim Agut, had been seeking total control of the company.
Top executives of Telefonica, the Spanish telephone company that controls the Terra Lycos board of directors, have been unwilling to grant Davis the power he has demanded, the report said, citing unnamed sources.
 Agut said has Davis agreed to serve as non-executive vice chairman of the Terra Lycos' board and will consult on the strategy of the company. He also will continue to serve on the boards of Terra Lycos' international joint ventures.
"Bob Davis' contributions to the company have been remarkable, building Lycos from its infancy to a global Internet powerhouse," Agut said in a statement. "He has been a true Internet pioneer in leading the creation of an entire industry. I am pleased that Bob has agreed to accept the key advisory role of vice chairman."
Davis was the Lycos search engine's first employee and is one of the merged company's largest shareholders.
The company also said Ted Philip, currently chief financial officer, will move to a new senior executive role within Terra Lycos as senior vice president of strategic planning and mergers and acquisitions.
Elias Rodriguez-Vina, formerly of GE Capital Europe, has joined Terra Lycos to succeed Philip as chief financial officer, the company said.
4Q loss narrower than expected
The company said its operating loss for the fourth quarter was $96 million, or 17 cents per share. Analysts had generally been expecting the company to post a loss of 22 cents per share, according to a survey conducted by earnings tracker First Call.
At $164 million, Terra Lycos' fourth-quarter revenue was well above the $151 million the Street had expected, according to the First Call survey.
Worldwide unique users grew to 94 million in the fourth quarter, while the Terra Lycos Network added nearly 1.2 million access subscribers, the company said. Average daily page views in December exceeded 350 million, an increase of 227 percent over the previous year and of 30 percent over the previous quarter, Terra Lycos said.
"Our strong financial performance this quarter lends credibility to our rationale behind this merger," Agut said. "Globalization, convergence and growth with profitability are the key themes of this combination. I am proud to say Terra Lycos is delivering on these core goals."
For the full year, the company logged an operating loss of $348, or 67 cents per share. The company's revenue in 2000 was $526 million, an 87 percent increase over 1999, assuming that Terra Networks and Lycos had been combined at that time. 
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
