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Expedia tops 2Q targets
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January 28, 2002: 4:44 p.m. ET
Online travel service more than triples profit forecast on strong revenue.
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Online travel service Expedia Inc. posted fiscal second-quarter earnings that more than tripled Wall Street forecasts for the period.
The company earned $18.9 million, or 31 cents a share, excluding non-recurring and non-cash charges, for its second quarter ending Dec. 31. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call were forecasting only 10 cents a share for the period. The company lost $3 million, or 6 cents a share, on the same basis a year earlier.
Shares of Expedia (EXPE: Research, Estimates) climbed $1.92, or 4 percent, to $52.94 in after-hours trading on Instinet, building on the gain of $4.02, or 8.6 percent, in regular-hours trading, as rumors circulated that it would top forecasts.
The company also posted record revenue of $81.8 million, up 84 percent from year-earlier revenue of $44.4 million, and easily topping the First Call forecast of $67.3 million.
The company said it was able to make these gains despite a drop in travel in the quarter in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
"Our results indicate that we have put together a robust business model and a strong consumer brand that enable us to weather business cycles," said a statement from Expedia Chief Financial Officer Gregory Stanger.
Including the special items the company posted net income in the period of $5.2 million, or 10 cents a share, an improvement on the net loss of $25.3 million, or 53 cents a share, it posted a year earlier.
A majority of Expedia shares is currently owned by software provider Microsoft Corp. (MSFT: Research, Estimates), but the company expects approval next week of the purchase of that stake and some other shares by USA Networks (USAI: Research, Estimates), a deal that will give USA Networks about 75 percent of Expedia. Shares of USA Networks also gained $1.94, or about 8 percent, to $27.64 in Monday trading. 
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