GRPN up 18% yesterday and another 20% this morning.
The 10-Q:
sec.gov
Groupon jumps as results beat estimates
Daily-deals firm issues revenue forecast that tops Street targets
May 14, 2012
Dan Gallagher, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Groupon Inc. reported better-than-expected revenue for its first quarter on Monday, along with a strong forecast that juiced the company’s shares in after-hours trading.
Shares of Groupon (US:GRPN) jumped nearly 18% late following the results, as adjusted earnings for the period narrowly beat Wall Street’s estimates. The stock already had surged by more than 18% to close at $11.73 during the regular session, after bouncing off an all-time low last week. Read First Take on Groupon results
The daily-deals provider also offered a revenue forecast for the second quarter that came in above analysts’ forecasts.
“They’re definitely seeing a relief rally here,” said Aaron Kessler of Raymond James.
For the quarter ended March 31, Groupon reported a net loss of $11.7 million, or 2 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $146.5 million or 48 cents a share for the same period last year. On a non-GAAP basis, the company said it would have earned $16.3 million, or 2 cents a share, for the recent period.
Revenue jumped 89% to $559.3 million. Analysts were expecting adjusted earnings of 1 cent per share on revenue of $530.6 million, according to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters.
Groupon said operating cash flow surged by 367% to $83.7 million. Free cash flow was $70.6 million for the period. Gross billings rose by 103% to $1.35 billion.
Overall costs grew by 26% during the quarter, though marketing costs fell by nearly 50% compared to the same period last year.
Selling and administrative expenses jumped; Groupon hired more than 1,000 workers during the period to bring its total headcount to 12,548 by the end of the quarter.
The results came in ahead of the company own guidance. On March 30, Groupon revised its fourth-quarter results to account for changes in the way it reserves for customer refunds. It also said its auditor added a “material weakness” warning to its financial statements as a result of the issue.
That warning set off a slide for the company’s stock, which already had lost most of its gains following its IPO in early November 2011.
During the company’s earnings call on Monday afternoon, Groupon CFO Jason Childs said the company is adding staff and capabilities to its financial arm to address the weakness, but that “we still have some more work to do there.”
“Hopefully, within the next quarter or two, we will have done all the steps necessary,” to address the weakness, Childs said, though he added that the matter will not be reviewed by the company’s auditors until the end of the year.
The company predicted revenue in the range of $550 million and $590 million for the second quarter. Analysts had been expecting revenue of $558.7 million.
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