NORWALK, Conn., May 10, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --Priceline.com Incorporated (Nasdaq: PCLN) today reported its financial results for the 1st quarter 2010. Gross travel bookings for the 1st quarter, which refers to the total dollar value, generally inclusive of all taxes and fees, of all travel services purchased by consumers, were $3.0 billion, an increase of 52.5% over a year ago.
Priceline.com had revenues in the 1st quarter of $584.4 million, a 26.5% increase over a year ago. The Company´s international operations contributed revenues in the 1st quarter of $215.8 million, an 88.2% increase versus a year ago (approximately 79% on a local currency basis). Priceline.com´s gross profit for the 1st quarter was $319.1 million, a 53.2% increase from the prior year. The Company´s international operations contributed gross profit in the 1st quarter of $214.9 million, an 88.8% increase versus a year ago (approximately 80% growth on a local currency basis). The Company´s operating income in the 1st quarter 2010 was $87.9 million, a 105.2% increase from the prior year. Priceline.com had GAAP net income for the 1st quarter of $53.9 million or $1.06 per diluted share, which compares to $25.0 million or $0.53 per diluted share in the same period a year ago.
Pro forma EBITDA for the 1st quarter was $111.7 million, an increase of 75.3% over the prior year. Pro forma net income in the 1st quarter was $87.2 million or $1.70 per diluted share, compared to $1.09 per share a year ago. The high end of priceline.com´s guidance for the 1st quarter was $1.64 per diluted share and First Call analyst consensus for the 1st quarter 2010 was $1.66 per diluted share. The section below entitled "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" provides a definition and information about the use of pro forma financial measures in this press release and the attached financial and statistical supplement reconciles pro forma financial information with priceline.com´s financial results under GAAP.
"The Company´s worldwide businesses were able to maintain gross booking growth over 50% in the 1st quarter, powered by strong growth in hotel room nights, which increased 57% over last year," said Jeffery H. Boyd, priceline´s President and CEO. "We believe all of our brands continued to gain share in hotel reservations during the quarter. International local currency bookings growth was 73%, representing continued high rates of transaction growth and stabilizing hotel room rates. Domestic growth at 16% came in at the high end of our range of guidance despite weaker results in opaque airline tickets and rental cars tied to reduced capacity in those markets."
Looking forward, Mr. Boyd said, "We are pleased with the strong growth reflected in our 2nd quarter guidance despite the impact of several negative external factors. The Iceland volcano caused widespread disruptions in air travel which resulted in a significant increase in hotel room cancellations for our Booking.com business. Civil unrest in Thailand has substantially impacted hotel room reservations in Thailand, which is a key market for Agoda and Booking.com´s Asia business. Lastly, sovereign debt concerns in Europe have resulted in a significant decline in the value of the Euro as compared to the U.S. dollar which adversely impacts our financial results as expressed in U.S. dollars."
"These external factors notwithstanding, we are pleased to see some improvement in hotel occupancy and average daily rates which are hopefully signs of improved consumer demand as we enter the summer travel season. We continue to focus on growing our global hotel business by expanding into attractive geographic markets, adding hotel supply and integrating supply across our businesses. We also concentrate on effective marketing to build our brands while continuously improving our service to customers by adding content and innovative functionality. We believe the company´s worldwide hotel platform is well-positioned to build share in global online hotel reservations."
Priceline.com said it was targeting the following for 2nd quarter 2010:
Year-over-year increase in total gross travel bookings of approximately 32.5% - 37.5%.
Year-over-year increase in international gross travel bookings of approximately 45% - 50% (an increase of approximately 55% - 60% on a local currency basis).
Year-over-year increase in domestic gross travel bookings of approximately 15% - 20%.
Year-over-year increase in revenue of approximately 18% - 23%.
Year-over-year increase in gross profit of approximately 34% - 39%.
Pro forma EBITDA of approximately $170 million to $180 million.
Pro forma net income of between $2.50 and $2.70 per diluted share.
The Company estimated that its range of guidance for the 2nd quarter included a reduction in targeted pro forma EBITDA of approximately $10 million resulting from cancellations, no shows and other related costs caused by the Iceland volcano eruption in April. The Company noted that ongoing or future air space closures and travel disruptions tied to the volcano eruption in Iceland could adversely affect the Company´s results for the second quarter of 2010 and cause negative variances to the above guidance. The Company also reiterated its expectation that gross travel bookings growth rates would decline in the second half of 2010 as it compares to periods of relatively stronger business performance in the 2nd half of 2009.
About Priceline.com(R) Incorporated
Priceline.com Incorporated (Nasdaq: PCLN) www.priceline.com provides online travel services in 34 languages in over 94 countries in Europe, North America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Included in the priceline.com family of companies is Booking.com, a leading international online hotel reservation service, priceline.com, a leading U.S. online travel service for value-conscious leisure travelers, and Agoda.com, an Asian online hotel reservation service. Priceline.com believes that Booking.com is Europe´s largest and fastest growing online hotel reservation service. Booking.com operates in 81 countries in 31 languages and offers its customers access to approximately 86,000 participating hotels worldwide.
In the U.S., priceline.com gives customers more ways to save on their airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises than any other Internet travel service. In addition to getting great published prices, leisure travelers can narrow their searches using priceline.com´s TripFilter advanced search technology, customize their search activity through priceline.com´s Inside Track features, create packages to save even more money, and take advantage of priceline.com´s famous Name Your Own Price(R) service, which can deliver the lowest prices available. Priceline.com operates the following travel websites: Travelweb.com, Lowestfare.com, RentalCars.com and BreezeNet.com. Priceline.com also licenses its business model to independent licensees.
