iVillage Reports Sees Online Ad Rebound
Despite continuing to lose money, women’s Web publisher iVillage said Wednesday the online advertising industry had begun to rebound.
“We’ve seen the inflection point,” iVillage CEO Doug McCormick said on a conference call.
McCormack said the positive financial performances of leading companies in the sector, such as Google and Yahoo!, were beginning to filter down to niche sites like iVillage. He said the second half of the year would probably see the rebound gain momentum.
For the first three months of the year, iVillage reported revenue of $12.6 million, down 16 percent from a year earlier. The company narrowed its net loss to $6.1 million, compared to $17.9 in first quarter 2002. iVillage ended the quarter with $27.3 million in cash and cash equivalents.
McCormick pointed to two deals iVillage struck in the quarter as emblematic of traditional advertisers’ embrace of the Internet’s potential for interacting with consumers. Kellogg’s Special K turned to iVillage to build a Web site for a dieting promotion, which it promoted through sponsorships throughout the iVillage network. Another client, General Electric, sponsored an online center for heart disease information. In all, iVillage added 68 new advertisers with 25 renewals. McCormick said most deals were done on a short-term basis.
24/7 Real Media Cuts Losses
Online ad server 24/7 Real Media announced on Thursday it experienced its best financial quarter in company history, narrowing its net loss to $2.3 million.
For the first three months of the year, the company reported revenue of $11.8 million, up 10 percent from the same period a year ago. Net loss was narrowed by 38 percent.
Both the media and technology segments of the company showed growth. 24/7 Real Media’s media unit grew revenue by 11 percent; the technology unit grew 7 percent.
The company expects to further keep its losses low in the coming quarter, with a shortfall of between 1 cent per share and 3 cents per share. The company expects second-quarter revenue to be between $11.5 million and $13 million.
