Expedia beats Wall Street expectations for quarter
Expedia, the largest US online travel agency, yesterday posted a quarterly profit that topped expectations on a 26 per cent gain in travel bookings and said it would pay a seven-cent-per-share quarterly dividend.
The results were generally positive for the company, but its shares tumbled 8.5 per cent to $20.35 (£12.98) on Nasdaq on concerns that Expedia’s new dividend policy hints at slower growth prospects.
Expedia said its fourth-quarter net profit amounted to $102.2m compared with a loss of $2.76bn a year earlier when the company took a hefty accounting charge.
The company said the total value of its bookings rose 26 per cent to $5.05bn. Domestic bookings increased 19 per cent and international bookings increased 38 per cent. Sales jumped by 12 per cent to $697.5m on an increase in hotel and ad revenues.