Groupon
gave a forecast for first-quarter results that fell short of Wall
Street’s expectations on Thursday, as the online commerce company
confirmed that several parties have expressed interest in acquiring its
South Korean subsidiary Ticket Monster.
Those
parties had opened discussions with Groupon about possibly buying the
loss-making Asian e-commerce firm, which sells tickets online and is
valued at about $1 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.
Groupon
said it was too early to comment on the likelihood of such a deal,
though it continues to explore alternatives for its various Asian
businesses.
Groupon bought Ticket Monster from rival LivingSocial Inc about a year ago for $260 million.
On
Thursday, Groupon, which once dominated the fast-growing online coupons
arena, forecast revenue of $790 million to $840 million in the March
quarter, up 13 percent from a year earlier on a foreign exchange-neutral
basis.
That
lagged Groupon’s target for 15 percent growth on the same basis in
2015. It also fell short of an average analyst estimate of $856.14
million.
The
company reported earnings, excluding one-time items, of 6 cents per
share in the crucial holiday quarter, surpassing the 3 cents that Wall
Street had expected on average.
It
forecast earnings of zero to 2 cents for the first quarter, a weak
outlook compared with an average outlook for 2 cents, according to
Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue was up 20 percent at $925.4 million during the three-month holiday period.
Shares in the company slid 1 percent to $7.38 in after-hours trade.
Posted by : Gizmeon
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