Conversant beats expectations in Q4
Shares of Westlake Village-based Conversant gained sharply in after-hours trading on Feb. 11 as the company delivered profits that beat Wall Street’s expectations and announced big changes designed to lead to growth.
Conversant said adjusted profits were $1.56 a share for 2013, beating analyst expectations that averaged $1.48 a share, according to Thomson Financial Network. Full-year revenue was $573.1 million, above analyst expectations of $565.3 million. Fourth-quarter earnings were even stronger, clocking in at a 67 cents a share compared to a predicted 57 cents a share.
The online advertising firm was formerly known as ValueClick until last week, when it changed its name to Conversant and announced that its various business units would be re-aligned around forging a personal connection between branded advertisers and consumers across a range of devices and media formats. Shortly thereafter, the company acquired video advertising firm SET Media for $26 million in cash and $4 million in stock.
“We think [SET Media] will be one of our fastest-growing businesses for quite some time and, size-wise, we think it has the potential to rival any of our other businesses,” CEO John Giuliani told analysts during an earnings conference call.
Shares were up 12.7 percent to $24.50 in after-hours trading after the earnings announcement.
