Daily deal giant Groupon finished 2011 on a uneven note, with a higher-than-expected revenue but missing the mark on earnings.
Groupon reported a fourth quarter net loss of $42.7 million, or 8 cents a share (statement). The Non-GAAP loss was 2 cents a share on a revenue of $506.5 million, up 194 percent compared to $172.2 million in the fourth quarter 2010.
Wall Street expected Q4 results with a profit of 3 cents a share on revenue of $475 million.
For the year, Groupon posted a revenue of $1.6 billion, with a net loss of $350.8 million, or 97 cents per share. That’s considerably better than the loss of $456.3 million, or negative $1.33 per share, that was reported in 2010.
Wall Street was looking for Groupon to report a loss of 29 cents a share on revenue of $1.59 billion.
CEO Andrew Mason commented in prepared remarks:
Groupon had a strong fourth quarter and we finished 2011 having helped 250,000 local merchants across 47 countries grow their businesses while saving Groupon customers billions of dollars. We will continue to invest in new services and tools that help our merchant partners be more successful and drive local commerce around the world.
On a brighter note, the number of active customers increased to over 33 million, a 275 percent increase year-over-year.
For the outlook, Groupon is predicting a revenue of $510 million to $550 million at the end of Q1 2012.
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