BELLEVUE, Wash. \u2013 April 16, 2001 \u2013 Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) today announced that it expects to report revenue for its third fiscal quarter of approximately $110 million, an increase of approximately 88% over the year-earlier quarter and 38% over the second quarter. The Company also expects to report positive net income before non-cash items for the first time and to report positive cash flow.
Third-quarter earnings before non-cash items are expected to be approximately $4 million, or 9 cents per basic share. After non-cash items, including amortization of goodwill and intangibles from acquisitions and amortization of stock-based compensation, the Company expects to report a net loss of approximately $18 million, or 37 cents a share. <\/p>\n
“Achieving profitability is a milestone that validates our business model and is the direct result of consumers embracing Expedia\u00ae's technology and products,” said Richard Barton, president and CEO of Expedia. “Our decision in early 2000 to invest in building a robust merchant business and effectively merchandising merchant inventory has paid off more quickly than we anticipated.” <\/p>\n
“The January launch of our industry-leading Expert Searching and Pricing technology platform, or ESP, has enabled us to cross-sell merchant inventory and to offer low-cost deals to our customers in flexible and powerful ways,” Barton added. “Further, ESP enabled us to launch our package business, quickly making Expedia one of the largest packagers on the Internet.” <\/p>\n
Additionally, strong seasonal travel-buying and travelers' continued rapid adoption of the Internet for booking travel helped drive gross bookings to approximately $674 million for the quarter, up approximately 68% from the year ago quarter and 42% sequentially. Also, for the first time, more than 1 million customers purchased travel on Expedia sites in a single quarter. <\/p>\n
Revenue growth in the quarter was strong across both merchant and agency businesses. Merchant revenue rose to approximately $67 million, nearly doubling year-over-year and up about 42% over the second fiscal quarter. Agency revenue rose to approximately $34 million, growing about 88% year-over-year and 39% sequentially. Strong sales in the month of March in particular boosted the Company's quarterly results. <\/p>\n
Advertising and other revenue rose about 35% year-over-year and 15% sequentially to approximately $9.6 million, which included $6.1 million of licensing revenue. Expedia has previously reported that it expects to exit the licensing business by the end of the calendar year. <\/p>\n
The Company expects cash and cash equivalents as of March 31 to rise to approximately $152 million from $118 million on December 31, 2000. Interest income in the quarter is expected to be about $2 million. The increase in cash reflects the attractive cash-flow nature of the merchant business, in which the Company collects payment from customers in advance of the time it pays suppliers. <\/p>\n
“This quarter's results demonstrate the power of our diversified business model,” said Gregory Stanger, Expedia's chief financial officer. “In recent months we have introduced new inventory such as cruises, packages, tours, events and merchant air. We have also announced significant growth in our lodging business. This diversification not only provides consumers with the most complete Internet travel shopping experience, it also reduces our exposure to any one element of the travel industry.” <\/p>\n
Expedia will release its third-quarter results Monday, April 30, 2001, at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time. The Company will conduct its third-quarter conference call at 2:00 p.m. (PT) that same day, and will provide its regular guidance for the upcoming quarters at that time. <\/p>\n
About Expedia Inc.<\/p>\n
Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) operates Expedia.com\u00ae and Travelscape.com\u2122, leading online travel sites in the United States and localized versions in Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. To help customers travel right, Expedia.com provides air, car and hotel booking, vacation package and cruise offers, destination information and point-to-point mapping. <\/p>\n
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This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to future events or future financial performance that involve risks and uncertainties. Such statements can be identified by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of such terms or comparable terms. These statements are only predictions and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these statements based upon a number of factors including final adjustments made in closing the quarter and those identified in the Company's filings with the SEC.
Expedia, Expedia.com, the Expedia logo and Travelscape.com are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and Canada. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. <\/p>\n
For investor information about Expedia, Inc.:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"