ABTL soft. I catched some low 1s after hours.
Monday July 16, 4:59 pm Eastern Time
Autobytel.com sees weak Q2 due to softer ad spending
NEW YORK, July 16 (Reuters) - Autobytel.com Inc. (NasdaqNM:ABTL - news) on Monday warned of weaker second quarter results as the online car seller, just like hundreds of other companies in the Internet industry, fell prey to the unfavorable economic environment that has dried advertising spending.
The Irvine, California-based company said it now expects a net loss per share of between 13 cents and 17 cents, excluding charges, on revenues ranging from $15.5 million to $16 million. Including charges, losses for the quarter could mount to a range of between $1.75 and $1.85 per share.
In the quarter ended in June, Autobytel.com sees charges of about $34 million, the bulk of it stemming from the write-down of goodwill booked in connection with its acquisition of CarSmart.
``Given the current market conditions, we believe we will reach EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) break-even in the fourth quarter of 2001 on a combined basis with Autoweb,'' the company said referring to the acquisition of its online rival announced in April.
The Autoweb purchase is expected to close in the third quarter. |
