Expedia Swings to Loss While Bookings Rise

Expedia Inc. swung to a fourth-quarter loss as the company capped a year of deal making, including its $3.9 billion merger with vacation rental site HomeAway.

In 2016, Expedia expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to improve 35% to 45% with Orbitz and HomeAway adding a combined $275 million to $325 to adjusted Ebitda. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had projected a 43% improvement.

Revenue, on a room-a-night basis, is expected to continue to decline this year from the year-ago period, largely because of currency fluctuations, Expedia said.

Over all, Expedia reported a loss of $12.5 million, or nine cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of about $66 million, or 50 cents a share. Excluding stock-based compensation and other items, Expedia reported a profit of 77 cents, compared with 86 cents a year earlier.

Revenue rose to $1.7 billion.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had projected a profit of $1 a share on $1.71 billion in revenue.

Shares, up about 21% over the past 12 months, rose 12% to $105.55 in late trading.

Gross bookings rose 40%, driven by hotel room nights and air tickets.

Domestic bookings, which account for nearly two-thirds of total bookings, rose 50% from the year earlier, while international bookings rose 26%.

Those figures exclude results from eLong Inc. Expedia sold its stake in the company in May.

Expedia, launched in 1996 by a small division within Microsoft Corp., went public in 1999 and has since expanded into a travel giant with a market capitalization of about $14 billion.

Write to Maria Armental at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 10, 2016 18:05 ET (23:05 GMT)

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