CBS MKTW: SportsLine USA bests estimate
Online sports publisher cites strong traffic
By Darren Chervitz, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 5:11 PM ET Apr 20, 1999 Also: NewsWatch
Internet Daily
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- SportsLine USA on Tuesday said it posted better-than-expected first-quarter results, thanks in large part to strong traffic on the publisher's Web sites.
The Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based company (SPLN: news, msgs) recorded a loss of 47 cents a share on sales of $11.1 million. The First Call analyst consensus estimate called for a 49-cent loss.
But it's probably the top-line numbers that will please analysts who follow the company, which last quarter fell about $200,000 short of the Street's consensus sales estimate. The NCAA March Madness basketball tournament generated $3 million in sales alone for the company.
"We continue to see strong growth in all the key metrics, from traffic to advertising to e-commerce," said SportsLine President and Chief Executive Michael Levy in a press release.
Robert Martin, an Internet analyst at Friedman Billings & Ramsey, noticed some strong traffic trends earlier this year and upped the stock's rating to "buy" in the first week of April. SportsLine beat his top-line estimate by $1 million.
"From looking at their international traffic and a number of other intiatives, we estimated traffic was running ahead of our expectations," said Martin, adding that second-quarter traffic "looks as strong or stronger" than the first quarter.
Endurance athlete
Rival ESPN (DIS: news, msgs) still gets the most Internet traffic, but SportsLine is gaining. According to a company press release, Media Metrix figures show that Sportsline's reach increased by 60 percent from February to March, while ESPN rose only 23 percent. Fox Sports' (FOX: news, msgs) reach rose 43 percent, while CNN/SI lost 5 percent.
"ESPN still holds the pole position ... but Levy has stated his intention to be the No. 1 sports destination site on the Web. Our guess is he'll get there," Martin said.
Shares closed up 3 5/8 to 43 5/8 ahead of the report.
CBS (CBS: news, msgs), part owner of the publisher of this site, has a stake in SportsLine USA.
Darren Chervitz is a reporter for CBS MarketWatch.
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