Angie's List Stock Tumbles on Earnings Miss

Angie's List Inc. shares dropped 8% as the latest earnings from the services marketplace and consumer-review site fell short of Wall Street expectations.

While the Indianapolis company missed views for the latest reporting period, it posted an annual profit in 2015 for the first time in its history.

Since going public in 2011, Angie's List, which connects consumers to service providers like painters and plumbers, has posted annual losses as expansion efforts have ratcheted up costs.

In the three months ended Dec. 31, the company's profit declined from the year-ago period, to $14.2 million, or 24 cents a share, compared with $15.3 million, or 26 cents a share. Revenue grew 5% to $86.3 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected profit of 26 cents on $88 million in revenue.

Growth in membership additions accelerated. As of Dec. 31, total paid memberships increased 8.4% to 3.3 million as Angie's retention rate increased to 76% from 74%. The number of new members increased 3.8% to 214,447. The number of participating service providers inched up 0.3% to 54,402.

Service-provider revenue in the fourth quarter increased 8.7% to $69.7 million. Membership revenue fell 8.1% to $16.6 million as Angie's introduced tiered pricing.

In September, Angie's List named former Best Buy Co. executive Scott Durchslag as its chief executive and president. Angie's List co-founder and CEO Bill Oesterle had stepped down to become more involved with civic issues in Indiana. In November, Angie's List said it wouldn't pursue a $512 million unsolicited buyout offer from IAC/InterActiveCorp. because the offer undervalued the company.

For the year, the company reported a profit of $10.2 million, compared with a loss of $12.1 million in the year prior.

Write to Austen Hufford at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 23, 2016 11:35 ET (16:35 GMT)

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