Feb. 12--Shares of comScore, the Reston, Va.-based provider of Internet analytics, soared Thursday morning on the announcement that British consulting firm WPP will take a 15 to 20 percent stake in the business. ComScore has operations in Chicago's Loop.
The company's stock rose more than 20 percent after WPP said its data division Kantar will partner with comScore to provide Internet data, including ad campaign and Web traffic measurement in certain European markets.
ComScore also provided fourth-quarter and year-end results. Here's how the quarter and the year played out.
Loss: The company lost $2.6 million a year after earning $170,000 during the same period a year earlier. For the year, the company lost $9.9 million compared with a loss of $2.3 million in 2013.
Losses per share: Losses per share were 8 cents compared with EPS that broke even in the same periods a year earlier. Wall Street had been expecting a loss of 6 cents per share. For the year, losses widened to 29 cents per share compared with 7 cents per share the previous year.
Sales: Quarterly revenue rose more than 17 percent to $90 million, beating Wall Street's expectations Fourth-quarter 2013 sales were $76.4 million. For the year, sales were up nearly 15 percent to $329.1 million compared with $286.8 million in 2013. Analysts had expected annual revenue of $322 million.
Outlook: For the first quarter of 2015, comScore expects sales to be $84 million to $88 million. It expects losses to be $10 million to $15.3 million. For the year, the company expects sales to range from $366 million to $379 million. The company said it expects year-end results to range from a loss of $10.9 million to a profit of $4.5 million.
What's up: Despite Wall Street's excitement, the new partnership with Kantar will have little effect on comScore's U.S. business, as Kantar brings European markets to the table. Chief Executive Officer Serge Matta said comScore will remain independent. WPP won't have a board seat.
crshropshire@tribune.com
