Priceline Shares Drop on Below Expectation Forecast
May 04 2016 - 08:50AM
Dow Jones News
Priceline Group Inc. shares fell sharply after the company
released an outlook below analysts' expectations, as the online
travel agent begins its search for a new chief executive a week
after its former head resigned.
Former Chief Executive Darren Huston resigned last week after an
internal investigation found that his relationship with an employee
violated the company's code of conduct. The company said Mr. Huston
won't receive any severance payments and agreed to forfeit more
than $13 million in equity awards.
Priceline said it expects adjusted earnings per share for the
second quarter to be between $11.60 and $12.50, well below the
$14.98 that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were predicting. It
also said it expects revenue growth of between 7% and 14%, below
the Wall Street expectation of 16%.
Shares plummeted 12.9% to $1180.05 in premarket trading.
Still, the company, which also operates Booking.com and
Kayak.com, posted double-digit revenue and profit increases in the
first quarter. Results beat expectations.
Priceline, based in Norwalk, Conn., has historically relied on
booking commissions for growth. That segment—which represents 70%
of revenue—increased 25% to $1.5 billion.
In all for the period, Priceline reported a profit of $374.4
million, or $7.54 a share, up from $333.3 million, or $6.42 a
share, a year prior. Excluding certain items, earnings per share
rose to $10.54 from $8.12.
Revenue rose 17% to $2.15 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson
Reuters had expected earnings per share of $9.65 on revenue of
$2.12 billion.
Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 04, 2016 08:35 ET (12:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024
Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024