E*TRADE Group is sitting pretty after the company beat Wall Street expectations by a penny.
For its quarter ended March 31, 2002 , the online banking and investment site reported net income from ongoing operations of $27 million, or $0.08 per share, which is better than the $0.07 per share estimated by analysts at First Call/Thomson Financial. Last year, the company posted $1 million in income, or $0.00 per share during the same quarter.
The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company also reported net revenue for Q1 of $331 million, compared to $330 million for the same period in 2001.
The company said the gains marked the seventh consecutive quarter of profitability and were a direct result of increases in bank revenues. Company chairman and CEO Christos Cotsakos also chalked up the good news to “diversification” letting E*TRADE consider expanding its focus in new markets “in many areas such as lending, media and technology.”
Looking ahead, E*TRADE said it was pretty confident that the rest of 2002 would result in $0.45-$0.55 earnings per share from ongoing operations.
Part of the company’s buzz also circulated around E*TRADE’s purchase of privately-held Tradescape for $100 million in stock and buyout of online trading assets from A.B. Watley for another $5 million.
But the most startling news came from its executive ranks, as E*TRADE said it would realign its global organization, including key senior management changes, which will become effective May 1.
Leaving the company is E*TRADE old-timer Jerry Gramaglia, who served as president, chief customer operations officer and chief marketing officer. Gramaglia said he is taking a job as an Entrepreneur in Residence with ArrowPath Venture Capital, an independent venture fund associated with E*TRADE.
E*TRADE has named Mitchell Caplan as Gramaglia’s replacement.
“This is an exciting and important time for E*TRADE Financial as we continue to evolve our global diversified business model,” said Cotsakos. “During the past two years, Jerry maintained a steady focus on delivering a superior end-to-end customer experience that clearly differentiates E*TRADE Financial and acts as a strong connection for household and revenue growth worldwide.”
The company also named R. Jarrett Lilien as its Chief Brokerage Officer and President for E*TRADE Securities; Joshua S. Levine has been elected Chief Administrative Officer and President of E*TRADE Technologies; Arlen W. Gelbard takes the post of Chief Banking Officer and President for E*TRADE Bank; and Pamela S. Kramer gets the nod as Chief Media and Content Officer.