TripAdvisor Profit Misses Estimate

(RTTNews) - Travel website operator TripAdvisor, Inc. (TRIP) said Tuesday after the markets closed that its third quarter profit fell 3.6% from last year, as higher costs and expenses more than offset a 39% increase in revenue.

The company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, also came in below analysts' expectations, but its quarterly revenue beat analysts' forecast.

"The biggest news for the quarter was our Viator acquisition, which expands our presence into the tours and attractions reservation business," said Steve Kaufer, TripAdvisor's President and Chief Executive Officer. "While this acquisition helped accelerate Q3 total revenue growth, it was partially offset by lower than expected Click-based revenue growth. Importantly, our business fundamentals remain strong, and we will continue on our path of investing for long term growth."

TripAdvisor shares are currently losing 13.14% in after hours trading after closing the day's regular trading session at $83.79, down $1.42 or 1.67%. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $72.57 to $11.24.

For the third quarter ended September 30, 2014, the Newton, Massachusetts-based company reported net income of $54 million or $0.37 per share, compared to $56 million or $0.38 per share for the year-ago quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted net income for the third quarter was $71 million or $0.48 per share, compared to $65 million or $0.45 per share in the prior year quarter.

On average, 26 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.60 per share for the third quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenue for the third quarter rose 39% to $354 million from $255 million in the same quarter last year. Twenty-six analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $348.81 million for the third quarter.

Revenue from click-based advertising increased 31% to $247 million in the third quarter, while revenue from display-based advertising grew 13% to $35 million and revenue from subscription, transaction and other jumped 106% to $72 million.

For the third quarter, the company's North America revenue surged 35% year-over-year to $176 million, while Europe, Middle East and Africa region revenue grew 43% to $119 million, Asia-Pacific revenue increased 30% $43 million and Latin America revenue jumped 78% to $16 million.

TripAdvisor averaged nearly 315 million monthly unique visitors during the third quarter, including about 50% via mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones.