SportsLine.com reported a loss in the fourth quarter of
FY '99, but not "as much as analysts had expected,"
according to L.A. Lorek of the Ft. Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL.
SportsLine.com posted a net income of $323,000, or $0.01 per
share, including an "extraordinary gain" of $14.2M from the
"retirement of a portion of convertible debt." However,
excluding the gain, the company reported a loss of $13.9M,
or $0.57 per share, which is less than the $0.75 per share
loss that analysts predicted. SportsLine.com reported
fourth quarter revenue of $21M, ad revenue of $9.9M and e-
commerce revenue that "exceeded" $6.9M, up 126%, 100% and
390%, respectively, from the same period of a year earlier.
SportsLine.com also received $800,000 from Super Bowl
advertising on its site, including from AutoNation, Delta,
Coca-Cola, Sprint and Citibank. SportsLine.com CEO Michael
Levy said that the company "is still taking ads and expects"
ad revenue from the Super Bowl to top $1M, which would mark
a $500,000 increase from last year (SUN-SENTINEL, 1/28).
IS LEVY A "PROFIT"? On "Street Signs," CNBC's Ted David
asked Levy for his reaction to Thursday's "announced record
site traffic and profits that beat Wall Street estimates."
Levy: "We are growing very rapidly. We actually did have a
profit for the quarter, but it was only due to retiring some
bonds. ... We are gaining market share. We generated over
$60 million in revenue last year and around $21 million in
the fourth quarter. And we actually hit a billion page
views in the quarter, which set a record for us. So we are
growing rapidly and right now believe that we can turn a
positive cash flow by the first half of next year. I would
say (we can turn a profit) about a year after that." Levy,
on the company's growth segment: "About half of our revenue
was from advertising and about 25% in e-commerce." Levy, on
SportsLine's acquisitions and the possibility of "being
acquired" by another company: "We are very interested in
shareholder value, and in fact that is the thing we are most
interested in. We always look for good acquisitions and, if
the right offer came along to acquire us, and it was in the
best interests of our shareholders, we would certainly
listen" (CNBC, 1/27).
