Tuesday, operator of Internet businesses, IAC/InterActiveCorp. (IACI), posted a net profit for the third quarter, compared to a loss in the same period last year, reflecting gains from sale of long-term investments as well as lower costs and expenses. Revenues for the quarter, however, shrank 9% from last year on a difficult advertising environment. Both earnings and revenues came in ahead of Street estimates.
For the third quarter, the New York-based company posted net earnings attributable to IAC shareholders of $21.68 million or $0.16 per share, compared to a net loss of $14.84 million or $0.11 per share in the year-ago quarter.
Results for the third quarter include gains totaling $35 million related to the sale of 1.8 million shares of common stock of OpenTable, Inc. and the sale of Match Europe, which positively impacted earnings by $0.26 per share and adjusted earnings by $0.16 per share.
Earnings from continuing operations for the quarter was $23.81 million or $0.18 per share, compared to loss from continuing operations of $1.27 million or $0.01 per share in the same period last year.
Excluding one-time items, net income for the quarter was $46.26 million or $0.34 per share, compared to a net loss of $20.24 million or $0.14 per share in the year-ago quarter.
On average, 19 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.13 per share for the third quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time charges and gains.
In the preceding second quarter, IAC reported a net income of $40.81 million or $0.28 per share, compared to a loss of $421.60 million or $3.02 per share in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted net income plunged to $3.3 million or $0.02 per share from $25.50 million or $0.17 per share in the corresponding period last year. Analysts expected earnings of $0.09 a share for the quarter.
Revenues for the recent third quarter declined to $336.58 million from $369.28 million in the prior year quarter, yet topping analysts' consensus estimate of $334.96 million for the quarter.
For the preceding second quarter, revenues declined to $340.05 million from $354.16 million in the year-earlier period.
Media & Advertising revenues for the latest third quarter declined 11% year-over-year to $172.3 million, reflecting a decline in revenue per query across proprietary properties, partially offset by continued growth in partners and queries at the Ask toolbar business and growth at Dictionary.com.
Match revenue for the quarter slipped 13% to $81.0 million from last year, reflecting the sale of Match Europe to Meetic. ServiceMagic revenue climbed 30% to $43.9 million from the previous-year quarter, benefited from 22% growth in service requests to a growing and more active service provider network and shift in the mix of requests to higher value service requests, driven primarily by increased marketing efforts.
Emerging businesses revenues for the quarter slid 19% to $40.5 million from a year earlier, owing to the absence of revenue from ReserveAmerica in the current year period following its sale, partially offset by growth at InstantAction.com.
The company which runs Match.com, Ask.com and other Web sites, reported total costs and expenses for the quarter of $329.46 million, compared to $392.00 million in the prior-year quarter. Operating income for the quarter was $7.12 million, compared to operating loss of $22.64 million in the year-ago period. Operating income before amortization rose 28% to $38.9 from last year, while gain on sales of long-term investments for the quarter was $37.88 million.
For the nine-month period, net earnings attributable to IAC shareholders was $34.11 million or $0.24 per share, compared to a net loss of $383.62 million or $2.75 per share in the same period last year. Earnings from continuing operations for the period was $36.52 million or $0.26 per share, compared to loss from continuing operations of $89.36 million or $0.63 per share last year. Adjusted net income for nine months rose to $46.52 million or $0.32 per share from $15.86 million or $0.11 per share in the corresponding period last year.
Revenues for nine months declined to $1.01 billion from $1.09 billion in the same period last year.
IACI is currently trading at $20.06, up $0.71 or 3.67%, on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. In the past 52 weeks, the stock trended in a broad range of $13.23 - $21.28, with a three-month average volume of 2.22 million shares.
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