The online brokerage service of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Inc. Thursday
said it expects to report revenues of $79 million and a net loss of $4
million or 4 cents per diluted share for the third quarter ended Sept. 30,
2000.
For DLJdirect, that compares to revenues of $55 million and
a net loss of $3 million or 3 cents per diluted share for the comparable
period last year.
Revenues for the quarter grew 44 percent over the prior comparable period.
Total expenses increased by 40 percent as lower marketing costs offset
higher operating expenses. Domestic account acquisition costs decreased
approximately 40 percent to less than $400 per account for the quarter,
compared to approximately $630 per new account, for both the third quarter
1999 and the second quarter 2000.
Actual results for the third quarter will be reported in November, in
conjunction with the release of financial results for Donaldson, Lufkin &
Jenrette Inc. The reason for the delay, said DLJdirect
Chief Executive Officer Blake Darcy, is the merger between Credit Suisse
First Boston and DLJ. Darcy said the preliminary earnings announcement was
to burst the bubble of suspense over shareholders.
DLJdirect also decided to make a name change to reflect the merger.
Following completion of the merger, DLJdirect will christen its domestic
brokerage operation as “CSFBdirect.”
“The CSFB/DLJ combination results in numerous industry firsts including the
number one ranking for the most powerful research team on the street and
number one rankings for lead managed equity and IPO offerings, to name a
few,” said Darcy.
DLJdirect has over one million worldwide customer accounts representing
nearly $28 billion in assets. The firm joined larger rivals E*TRADE and top
online broker Charles Schwab Corp. in announcing earnings
Thursday and fell into some middle ground with its competition.
While E*TRADE surprised Wall Street by notching a profit
of $7.2 million profit for the quarter, Schwab’s third-quarter net profits
fell slightly due to acquisition costs, a slowdown in stock trading, and
spending hikes on staff and equipment.