LinkedIn Slips To Loss On Expenses

(RTTNews) - LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD), the world's largest online professional network, said said Thursday after the markets closed that it swung to a first quarter loss, hurt by higher costs and expenses even as revenue surged 46%.

However, the company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, came in above analysts' expectations as did its quarterly revenue.

At the same time, the company forecast second quarter revenue slightly below analysts' current consensus estimate. The company raised its full year 2014 revenue guidance that also fell shy of analysts' forecast.

"The first quarter was strong for LinkedIn in terms of our member engagement and financial results," said Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn. "We made significant progress against several strategic priorities including expanding internationally with our China launch."

LinkedIn shares are currently losing 3.67% in after hours trading after closing the day's regular trading session at $161.22, up $7.75 or 5.05%. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $143.26 to $257.56.

For the first quarter ended March 31, 2014, the Mountain View, California-based company reported a net loss of $13.4 million or $0.11 per share, compared to net income of $22.6 million or $0.20 per share for the year-ago quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted net income for the first quarter was $47.3 million or $0.38 per share, compared to $52.4 million or $0.45 per share in the prior year quarter.

On average, 34 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.34 per share for the first quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenue for the first quarter rose 46% to $473.2 million from $324.7 million in the same quarter last year. Thirty-two analyst had a consensus revenue estimate of $466.57 million for the first quarter.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.34 per share on revenue of $466.57 million for the first quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company's membership grew to 296 million in the first quarter from 277 million in the fourth quarter.

The company recorded strong revenue growth across all its three product categories. First quarter revenues from talent solutions products jumped 50% to $275.9 million, while revenue from marketing solutions products surged 36% to $101.8 million and revenue from premium subscriptions products climbed 46% to $95.5 million.

U.S. revenue comprised 60% of the company's total revenue in the fourth quarter, while international revenue comprised the rest 40%.

Looking forward, the company forecasts second quarter revenue of $500 million to $505 million.

The company raised its full year 2014 revenue guidance to a range of $2.06 billion to $2.08 billion from its prior guidance of $2.02 billion to $2.05 billion.

Analysts currently expect the company to post revenue of $505.08 million for the second quarter and $2.11 billion for the full year 2014.