The 7% revenue boost was attributed to 12% growth in global advertising and other revenues. The company’s former Patch business added $2 million in first quarter 2014 revenues. On a currency-neutral basis, the company’s revenues rose 9%.
Costs of revenues rose by 7%, $34.1 million year-over-year, to $491.6 million. AOL attributed the rise to a jump of $46 million in traffic acquisition costs.
The company’s CEO said:
AOL grew its consumer base strongly and saw continued strength in video, mobile and programmatic advertising, while we also updated the structure and capabilities of the company. AOL continues to grow in strength and we are on a mission to scale the first Media Technology company of the internet and mobile age.
The company’s subscriber numbers dropped 11% year-over-year to about 2.2 million and domestic average monthly AOL multi-platform unique visitors rose 12% to 190,000, while the number of visitors to AOL properties dipped 6%.
We’ll have to wait for the conference call for any guidance, but the consensus estimate for the current quarter calls for EPS of $0.43 on revenues of $619.43 million. For the full year, the estimate for EPS is $2.11 on revenues of $2.63 billion.
Three months ago the consensus estimate for first-quarter EPS was $0.47. The revenue miss in the fourth quarter lowered expectations for both revenues and earnings. Analysts’ first-quarter expectations appear to have been too pessimistic.
AOL’s shares rose about 8.9% to $42.88 early Friday. The stock’s 52-week range is $33.20 to $49.86. The consensus price target for the shares was $45.65 before the report, and the high target was $67.00.
ALSO READ: Why Valuations Could Get in Way of a Yelp Buyout
This May Seem Unusual (sponsor)
Did you know some credit cards can actually help you get OUT of debt faster? It’s true. Every day thousands of Americans are waking up to the secret: using a ‘0% Intro APR‘ card.
Here’s how it works. You find a card that offers a 0% balance transfer feature (not all do, but theses ones are top picks from the editors at FinanceBuzz). Next, you transfer your current balance to this new card, securing ZERO interest payments for the intro term, then you use the savings to pay off debt faster. The math is straight forward, and can save you hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars if used correctly. Find the right card for you by clicking here.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
