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PurchasePro (Nasdaq: PPRO) fell 40 U.S. cents to $3.65 in morning trading Thursday after reporting a first-quarter loss.
The company blamed the shortfall on "deferral of revenues associated with the sale of several marketplaces." SG Cowen reportedly downgraded PurchasePro to neutral from strong buy following the report.
Revenue for the quarter ended March 31st totaled $29.8 million, up from $4.6 million in the year-earlier quarter but below the fourth quarter's $33.6 million.
The company posted an operating loss, before special charges and expenses, of $1.4 million, or 2 cents per share, against analyst estimates for a profit of 8 cents per share.
Las Vegas, Nevada-based PurchasePro reported a net loss of $18.1 million, or 26 cents per share, compared with a loss of $15.7 million, or 27 cents, in the same period last year.
The company, which operates business-to-business (B2B) online marketplaces, warned Wednesday that results, originally due out late Wednesday, would fall short of analyst estimates because of deferred recognition of certain license revenue, then delayed issuing its report until Thursday morning.
"While we recognize that our results are below expectations, we achieved a number of milestones in the quarter that are broadening our reach, strengthening our network and setting us up for solid growth into the future," said chairman and chief executive officer Charles E. Johnson, Jr.
"Our focus continues to be on driving transactions, revenues and growth," Johnson said. During the quarter, he said, the company strengthened its alliance with AOL and signed marketplace software license agreements with Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Monster.com and Homestore.com.
PurchasePro also has a new chief financial officer. The company
named Richard Clemmer, Quantum's current CFO, to take over
PurchasePro's financial operations and serve as vice chairman of the company.
