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LoopNet, Inc. Announces Third Quarter 2010 Financial Results

^{Published on 2010-10-27 13:11:38 - Market Wire}
 

SAN FRANCISCO--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--LoopNet, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOOP), today announced financial results for the third quarter of 2010.

"We remain confident that Q1: 2010 was an ainflection point"

Revenue for the third quarter of 2010 was $19.8 million, compared to $19.4 million in the second quarter of 2010 and $18.8 million in the third quarter of 2009. Net income applicable to common stockholders for the third quarter of 2010 was $2.7 million or $0.06 per diluted share, compared to $3.7 million or $0.09 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2009. Non-GAAP net income (net income excluding stock-based compensation, amortization of acquired intangible assets and litigation related costs and recoveries) for the third quarter of 2010 was $4.4 million or $0.11 per diluted share, compared to $5.5 million or $0.13 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2009. The effective tax rate in the third quarter of 2010 was 34.8% compared to 26.1% in the third quarter of 2009.

LoopNeta™s Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest and other income (expense), income taxes, depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation and litigation related costs and recoveries) for the third quarter of 2010 was $7.4 million compared to $7.8 million in the third quarter of 2009.

aOur Q3 financial results exceeded plan, despite persistently challenging industry conditions. Additionally, we made solid progress in the quarter on products and initiatives that we think our customers will embrace and that we believe will significantly enhance the value of our company over time,a said LoopNet Chairman and CEO, Rich Boyle. aWe remain confident that Q1: 2010 was an ainflection pointa for our business, and are excited to see growth reaccelerating once again!a

Key operating metrics and business highlights from Q3:2010 include the following:

• LoopNet Registered Members, which includes Basic and Premium Members, were 4,462,554;
• LoopNet Premium Members were 69,363, as of the end of the quarter;
• Average monthly price of LoopNet Premium Membership was $66.92 during the quarter;
• Total commercial real estate listings active on the LoopNet marketplace were 779,083, as of the end of the quarter;
• Total profile views of listings on the LoopNet marketplace were 64.2 million during the quarter;
• The number of unique paying subscribers to one or more of our commercial real estate related services was 88,505, as of the end of the quarter;
• The average monthly price paid by our unique commercial real estate subscribers was $57.30 during the quarter;
• The September acquisition of LandsofAmerica, operator of the largest and most heavily trafficked online marketplace specializing in land for sale; and,
• Average monthly unique visitors to LoopNet owned websites; including LoopNet.com, CityFeet.com, LandandFarm.com, BizQuest.com and BizBuySell.com was approximately 2.4 million during the quarter, as reported by comScore Media Metrix.

Stock Repurchase Program

LoopNet repurchased 465,269 shares of its common stock during the quarter ended September 30, 2010 for $5.5 million. Since February 2010, the Company has now repurchased 2,756,300 shares of its common stock, or 7.0% of total shares outstanding, for $31.7 million. As a result, $43.3 million remains on our previously announced authorization for repurchase of up to $75 million of common stock.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

As of September 30, 2010, LoopNet had $87.5 million of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments and no debt.

Business Outlook

Based on current visibility, the Company expects revenue for the quarter ending December 31, 2010 to be in the range of $19.7 to $19.9 million,Adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $6.9 to $7.1 million and net income applicable to common stockholders to be in the range of $0.04 to $0.05 per diluted share, assuming stock-based compensation of approximately $0.03 per diluted share (net of tax benefit) and an effective tax rate of approximately 38%.

Conference Call Information

LoopNet, Inc. will discuss these financial results in a conference call at 1:30 p.m. PDT, 4:30 p.m. EDT, today. To participate in the conference call, please dial 888-482-0024 if you are calling from within the United States or 617-801-9702 if you are calling from outside the United States, and enter pass code number 38642403. Investors may also listen to a live web cast of the conference call on the investor relations section of our website at investor.LoopNet.com/events.cfm. For investors unable to participate in the live conference call, an audio replay will be available approximately two hours after conclusion of the call and will be available until Friday, October 29, 2010 at 8:59 p.m. PDT. To access the audio replay, dial 888-286-8010 within the United States or 617-801-6888 internationally and enter pass code number 10411642. A web cast replay of the call will be available on the investor relations section of our website at [ http://investor.LoopNet.com/events.cfm ] approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call and will remain available for 30 calendar days.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release includes discussions of Adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per share, which are non-GAAP financial measures provided as a complement to results provided in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (aGAAPa). The term aAdjusted EBITDAa refers to a financial measure that we define as earnings before net interest, income taxes, depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation and litigation related costs and recoveries. The term anon-GAAP net incomea refers to a financial measure that we define as net income before stock-based compensation, amortization of acquired intangible assets and litigation related costs and recoveries. Non-GAAP net income is also provided on a per share basis, using shares outstanding at the relevant period of measurement. Adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per share are not substitutes for measures determined in accordance with GAAP, and may not be comparable to Adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per share as reported by other companies. We believe Adjusted EBITDA to be relevant and useful information to our investors as this measure is an integral part of our internal management reporting and planning process and is the primary measure used by our management to evaluate the operating performance of our business. The components of Adjusted EBITDA include the key revenue and expense items for which our operating managers are responsible and upon which we evaluate their performance, and we also use Adjusted EBITDA for planning purposes and in presentations to our board of directors. We believe non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per share to be relevant and useful information to our investors as they provide meaningful insight into the Companya™s performance while excluding infrequent and non-recurring items that may not be considered directly related to our on-going business operations. We believe that non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per share are also used by companies and investors to evaluate comparable performance in the online marketplace and platform industry. We also believe that Adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per share allow for a more accurate comparison of our operating results over historical periods. A limitation of Adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per share is that they do not include all items that impact our net income for the period. Management compensates for this limitation by also relying on the comparable GAAP financial measure of net income, which includes the items that are excluded from Adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per share. Management believes that these non-GAAP measures should be considered as a complement to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, the corresponding measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to GAAP is provided in the attached tables.

About LoopNet, Inc.

LoopNet operates the most heavily trafficked commercial real estate marketplace online with more than four million registered members and more than six million unique visitors quarterly, as reported by Google Analytics. LoopNet also now offers one of the largest commercial property databases with more than 7.5 million commercial property records.

The LoopNet marketplace covers all commercial property categories, including office, industrial, retail, multifamily (apartment properties for sale), hotel, land, specialty properties, investment properties and businesses for sale. LoopNet customers include virtually all of the top commercial real estate firms in the U.S., including Cassidy Turley, Coldwell Banker Commercial, Colliers International, Cushman & Wakefield, Grubb & Ellis, Jones Lang LaSalle, Lincoln Property Company, NAI Global, Newmark Knight Frank, ProLogis, The Shopping Center Group and Sperry Van Ness.

Forward Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements regarding LoopNeta™s expectations regarding its future financial results as well as trends in the commercial real estate industry. These statements are based on current information and expectations that are inherently subject to change and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results might differ materially from those in any forward-looking statement due to various factors, including, but not limited to economic events or trends in the commercial real estate market or in general, the effects of recent economic and consumer confidence trends on global and domestic financial markets, including credit available to real estate purchasers, our ability to continue to attract and retain new registered members, convert registered members into premium members and retain such premium members, seasonality, our ability to manage our growth, our ability to successfully integrate the technologies, operations and personnel of acquired businesses in a timely manner, our ability to obtain the expected strategic and financial benefits from acquisitions, our ability to introduce new or upgraded products or services and customer acceptance of such services, our ability to obtain or retain listings from commercial real estate brokers, agents and property owners and competition from current or future companies. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those in any forward looking statement are contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (aSECa), and other SEC filings made by us. Copies of filings made by us with the SEC are available on the SECa™s website or at [ http://investor.loopnet.com/sec.cfm ]. LoopNet does not intend to update the forward-looking statements included in this press release which are based on information available to us as of the date of this release.