Excite Inc reported its last set of results before being subsumed into @Home Network Inc, which acquired the web portal back in January for $6.7bn in stock. The Redwood City, California-based company predicted last month that it would record first-quarter revenue of around $51m and Wall Street expected earnings per share of five cents. Excite managed to better its revenue estimate and came up just shy on the bottom line.
The company recorded a net loss of $7.4m, including acquisition charges totaling $2.4m, down from a loss of $7.5m a year ago that included $977,000 in similar charges. First-quarter revenue rose 123% to $54.1m, which is flat compared to the previous quarter. Excluding acquisition-related charges, net income was $2.5m, or $0.04 per share, a penny below expectations. The acquisition by @Home is expected to close in May.
Traffic grew 33% on the previous quarter to 77 million page views per day in March. Registration grew 40%, to 28 million in March versus December 1998. As is to be expected during a period when it is being acquired, Excite’s first quarter was quiet in terms of news, as most the events the company highlights in its statement actually happened after the quarter ended. But it did introduce the ability to use rich media advertising on its sites during the quarter and team with Intel to build a site highlighting a 3-D web navigation tool called Excite Extreme.
But it was a solid quarter, with day sales outstanding (DSO) cut by five days to 56 days. Cash and equivalents stood at $74.0m, up from $62.0m at the end of the previous quarter and $6.0m of debt was paid during the three months, although a new $20.0m credit facility was secured with the Bank of Boston during the period.
