Shares of Velti Plc (VELT) tumbled 24 percent in extended trading on Tuesday after the mobile marketing company reported results for the fourth quarter that missed analysts' expectations. The company reported a loss compared to a profit last year, reflecting higher operating expenses and third-party costs. The company also provided weak revenue guidance for the first quarter and full-year 2013.
"In the fourth quarter, revenue came in at the low end of our expectations, which, in conjunction with higher operating expenses, contributed to significantly lower adjusted EBITDA," CEO Alex Moukas said in a statement.
The Dublin, Ireland-based company reported a net loss of $5.18 million or $0.08 per share for the quarter, compared to net income of $24.98 million or $0.40 per share in the prior-year quarter.
Excluding items, adjusted net income for the quarter was $26.0 million or $0.39 per share, compared to $39.3 million or $0.59 per share in the year-ago quarter.
On average, nine analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.59 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Total revenues for the quarter grew 12 percent to $97.47 million from $87.11 million in the same quarter last year, but missed nine Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $106.00 million.
Meanwhile, revenue less third-party costs decreased 2 percent to $66.6 million from last year.
Software as a service (SaaS) revenue grew to $59.96 million from $62.65 million, and managed services revenues soared to $24.93 million from $4.71 million, while license and software revenue declined $12.58 million from $19.76 million in the year-ago quarter.
Total cost and expenses doubled to $110.15 million from $59.92 million in the prior-year quarter, including third-party costs of $30.86 million, higher than last year's $18.81 million.
For fiscal 2012, the company reported a net loss of $56.42 million or $0.88 per share, wider than $15.37 million or $0.28 per share in the prior year. Excluding items, adjusted net income for the year was $22.2 million or $0.34 per share, compared to $29.0 million or $0.50 per share in the year ago. Total revenues for the full year grew to $270.34 million from $189.20 million in the previous year.
Analysts expected the company to report full-year 2012 earnings of $0.54 per share on annual revenues of $278.86 million.
Looking ahead to the first quarter, the company expects revenues in a range of $40 million to $44 million. Analysts expect to report first-quarter revenues of $62.70 million.
For fiscal 2013, the company expects to report revenues between $255 million and $280 million. Street is currently looking for full-year 2013 revenues of $339.52 million.
"We believe that 2013 will be a transitional year allowing us to deliver significant revenue growth in our business in the key markets as well as significantly improved cash flow. We further believe that we will show sequential growth and financial improvement throughout the year and beyond," CFO Jeff Ross added.
VELT closed Tuesday's regular trading session at $3.11, down $0.10 or 3.12% on a volume of 5.87 million shares. The stock plunged a further $0.75 or 24.12% in after-hours trading.
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