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Tiscali posts 2000 loss
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March 28, 2001: 8:47 a.m. ET
Italian Internet service provider posts loss on acquisition and marketing costs
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LONDON (CNN) - Tiscali, Europe's No. 2 ISP, said on Wednesday it made a loss in 2000 as it spent millions on acquiring rivals and marketing.
The Italian Internet service provider's pretax loss, excluding the acquisition of World Online that was completed in December, widened to  187.9 million ($168 million) from a loss of 9.5 million in 1999.
Sales soared to 173.2 million in the year to December 27, 2000, up from 32.7 million in the year earlier. Its operating loss was 177 million against a 1999 loss of 9.4 million.
Tiscali, which has been rumored to be in talks to buy the Internet interests of Viag Interkom, as well as Britain's ic24 from media group Trinity Mirror, bought World Online for $4.5 billion last year.
Viag Interkom, owned by British Telecommunications (BT-A), is Germany's fourth-largest mobile phone operator.
Tiscali, based in Cagliari, Sardinia, also bought French rival Liberty Surf for $642 million in early January.
The company said acquisition-related costs in 2000 amounted to 106 million and it spent 37.7 million on marketing.
Tiscali fell 1 percent to 15.39 in afternoon Milan trade.
Germany's T-Online (ATOI) is Europe's biggest ISP and AOL Time Warner (AOL: Research, Estimates), the parent of CNN, is the third largest. 
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