By Kyle Peterson
CHICAGO, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Expedia Inc, the largest U.S. online travel agency, posted a quarterly profit on Thursday that topped expectations on a 26 percent gain in travel bookings and said it would pay a 7-cent-per-share quarterly dividend.
The results where generally positive for the company, but its shares tumbled 5.7 percent to $20.97 on Nasdaq on concerns that Expedia's new dividend policy hints at slower growth prospects.
'Generally you think of slower-growth, more-mature companies issuing dividends, not hyper-growth Internet companies,' said Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Marianne Wolk. 'So that may be something the market is reacting to this morning.'
Expedia said in statement that the dividend will be paid to stockholders of record as of the close of business on March 11 with a payment date of March 31. This quarterly dividend will amount to about $20 million.
During its conference call with analysts and reporters, Expedia said that while it expects 2010 operating income before amortization to grow over 2009, selling and marketing expenses will rise more than revenue in the first quarter.
'We think the advertising comps going into 2010 are going to be a bit tougher,' Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said.
Expedia was the first of the three publicly traded online travel agencies to report its fourth-quarter earnings.
The travel industry has been hit in the last year by an economic downturn that eroded travel demand. Online travel companies responded by slashing fees and offering promotions to bolster bookings.
Expedia said its fourth-quarter net profit amounted to $102.2 million, or 35 cents per share, compared with a loss of $2.76 billion, or $9.62 per share, a year earlier when the company took a hefty accounting charge.
Excluding one-time items, Expedia earned 30 cents per share. Wall Street had expected the company to earn 29 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The company said the total value of its bookings rose 26 percent to $5.05 billion. Domestic bookings increased 19 percent and international bookings increased 38 percent.
Revenue jumped by 12 percent to $697.5 million on an increase in hotel and advertising and media revenues.
(Reporting by Kyle Peterson and Karen Jacobs, editing by Dave Zimmerman) Keywords: EXPEDIA/ (kyle.peterson@thomsonreuters.com ; +1 312 408 8581; Reuters Messaging: kyle.peterson.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
CHICAGO, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Expedia Inc, the largest U.S. online travel agency, posted a quarterly profit on Thursday that topped expectations on a 26 percent gain in travel bookings and said it would pay a 7-cent-per-share quarterly dividend.
The results where generally positive for the company, but its shares tumbled 5.7 percent to $20.97 on Nasdaq on concerns that Expedia's new dividend policy hints at slower growth prospects.
'Generally you think of slower-growth, more-mature companies issuing dividends, not hyper-growth Internet companies,' said Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Marianne Wolk. 'So that may be something the market is reacting to this morning.'
Expedia said in statement that the dividend will be paid to stockholders of record as of the close of business on March 11 with a payment date of March 31. This quarterly dividend will amount to about $20 million.
During its conference call with analysts and reporters, Expedia said that while it expects 2010 operating income before amortization to grow over 2009, selling and marketing expenses will rise more than revenue in the first quarter.
'We think the advertising comps going into 2010 are going to be a bit tougher,' Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said.
Expedia was the first of the three publicly traded online travel agencies to report its fourth-quarter earnings.
The travel industry has been hit in the last year by an economic downturn that eroded travel demand. Online travel companies responded by slashing fees and offering promotions to bolster bookings.
Expedia said its fourth-quarter net profit amounted to $102.2 million, or 35 cents per share, compared with a loss of $2.76 billion, or $9.62 per share, a year earlier when the company took a hefty accounting charge.
Excluding one-time items, Expedia earned 30 cents per share. Wall Street had expected the company to earn 29 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The company said the total value of its bookings rose 26 percent to $5.05 billion. Domestic bookings increased 19 percent and international bookings increased 38 percent.
Revenue jumped by 12 percent to $697.5 million on an increase in hotel and advertising and media revenues.
(Reporting by Kyle Peterson and Karen Jacobs, editing by Dave Zimmerman) Keywords: EXPEDIA/ (kyle.peterson@thomsonreuters.com ; +1 312 408 8581; Reuters Messaging: kyle.peterson.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
