Priceline Group Inc. Q4 Earnings Beat, But Q1 Forecast Much Weaker Than Expected
Priceline Group Inc. (NASDAQ:PCLN) late Thursday [Feb 27, 2017 | 4:09pm] posted better than expected fourth-quarter profits and revenues, but its first quarter outlook fell well short of estimates.
Written by StockNews.com
The Norwalk, CT-based online travel agency reported Q4 EPS of $14.21, which was a whopping $1.24 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $12.97.
Revenues jumped 17.4% from last year to $2.35 billion, also topping analysts’ view for $2.32 billion.
Priceline also noted that fourth-quarter gross travel bookings were $15.1 billion, up 26% year-over-year. Meanwhile, Q4 adjusted EBITDA gained 22% to $869 million.
The company’s first quarter outlook left much to be desired, however. Looking ahead, PCLN forecast Q1 EPS of just $8.25 to $8.65, which would badly miss analysts’ current estimate of $11.94.
Additionally, Priceline expects Q1 room nights booked to rise 20%-25% from the year-ago period, with total gross travel bookings up 17%-22%, and total gross travel bookings gaining 19%-24%.
The company commented via press release:
“The Priceline Group finished 2016 with a strong 4th quarter, reporting accelerating growth in hotel room nights booked, with solid organic growth and attractive profit margins,” said Glenn Fogel, Chief Executive Officer of The Priceline Group. “We also recorded accelerating growth in room nights booked for the full year 2016 over 2015, which reflects the benefits of our scaled accommodations platform and strong execution by our global teams.”
Looking forward to 2017, Mr. Fogel said, “We will continue to focus on growing our supply base to drive customer choice, innovating around the customer experience and investing efficiently in marketing to deliver profitable top-line growth.”
...Year-to-date, PCLN has gained 11.32%, versus a 6.07% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.
PCLN currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #4 of 43 stocks in the Internet category.
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