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CMGI's loss widens
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June 12, 2001: 5:23 p.m. ET
Internet investment firm's third-quarter net loss approaches $1 billion
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - CMGI Inc. reported a fiscal third-quarter net loss that more than doubled from the same period a year earlier and said it expects losses to narrow in the current quarter.
The company, which owns and operates a range of Internet companies including AltaVista, a leading Web portal, and Engage, which provides Internet marketing software and services, said it lost $963.3 million, or $2.80 per share, during the quarter ended April 30.
That compares with a net loss of $428 million, or $1.53 per share, during the same quarter a year ago.
Excluding a slew of extraordinary charges, CMGI said its fiscal third-quarter operating loss was $131.7 million, or 38 cents per share, which it characterized as an improvement over an operating loss of $191.5 million, or 59 cents per share in the previous quarter.
At $301 million, CMGI's fiscal third-quarter revenue rose 29 percent from the third quarter of fiscal 2000 but slipped 12 percent from the previous quarter.
Earnings tracker First Call currently lists only one analyst that continues to track CMGI, so consensus financial estimates were unavailable. When the company reported its fiscal second-quarter results, executives had said they were aiming for third-quarter revenue ranging between $280 million and $290 million and an operating loss ranging between $236 million and $246 million.
"Substantial progress has been made on refining our business model, but there is still more work to be done," CMGI Chairman and Chief Executive David Wetherell, said in a statement Tuesday.
"We were extremely pleased that we exceeded our consolidated financial expectations for the third quarter and significantly reduced our operating cash usage," Wetherell added. "We expect that these trends will continue into fiscal 2002."
Looking ahead, the company said it is expecting its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue to range between $280 million and $290 million, while its operating loss will range between $120 million and $130 million.
Previously, executives had expected CMGI's fiscal fourth-quarter operating loss to range between $174 million and $184 million.
Shares of CMGI (CMGI: up $0.09 to $4.14, Research, Estimates), which have fallen more than 93 percent over the past year, closed 9 cents higher at $4.14 on the Nasdaq on Tuesday. They gained another 12 cents to $4.26 in extended hours trade. 
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