LCTO selling for less than its cash value:
miami.internet.com
El Sitio Narrows Net Loss, Stock Near All-Time Low
By William Plasencia
The internet media company El Sitio (NASDAQ:LCTO) reported its third-quarter net loss was
narrower than analysts expected due in large part to a tenfold gain in advertising revenue. The
company will soon be known as Claxson Interactive Group when the internet portal completes
its planned mergerwith Cisneros Television Group.
The Argentine company, which has its U.S. headquarters on Miami Beach, said its net loss for
the quarter totaled $20.5 million, or 47 cents a share, compared with $10.1 million, or 80 cents a
share, at the end of third-quarter 1999. The company continues to trade under the El Sitio name
and LCTO ticker symbol.
Analysts consensus, published by First Call/Thomson Financial, had Wall Street expecting
Claxon/El Sitio, to post a loss of 50 cents a share. But the company surprised the Street by
reporting that its revenues grew to $10.5 million from $800,000 the year prior.
Ad revenues grew 31 percent compared to the second-quarter tally of $6.3 million. During the
third quarter the company's website recorded total page views of more than 600 million,
compared with 592 million during the second quarter. In the same time frame, its registered users
rose 33 percent to nearly 1.6 million.
Last month Claxon/El Sitio announced it would merge with Ibero American Media Partners and
Cisneros Television Group to form the multimedia content company.
As of Sept. 30, Claxon/El Sitio had cash, investments and cash equivalents totaling $83.4 million.
The company's management said it will become EBITDA-positive 12 months after the closing of
the merger, which is expected by yearend or early 2001.
The financial results were reported after the end of trading Wednesday. Shares of Claxon/El Sitio
were down .06 to $1.91 before the results. The stock was just shy of its 52-week low of $1.81
and down approximately 95 percent from its year-high of $44.88.
November 16, 2000 |
