In this Wednesday, Dec. 12 2012 photo, Taneshia Wright, of Manhattan, fills out a job application during a job fair in New York. Economists forecast that employers added 155,000 jobs in December, according to a survey by FactSet. That would be slightly higher than November's 148,000. The unemployment rate is projected to remain at 7.7 percent. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
-
In this Wednesday, Dec. 12 2012 photo, Taneshia Wright, of Manhattan, fills out a job application during a job fair in New York. Economists forecast that employers added 155,000 jobs in December, according to a survey by FactSet. That would be slightly higher than November's 148,000. The unemployment rate is projected to remain at 7.7 percent. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
-
FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012 file photo, an advertisement in the classified section of the Boston Herald newspaper calls attention to possible employment opportunities in Walpole, Mass. Economists forecast that employers added 155,000 jobs in December, according to a survey by FactSet. That would be slightly higher than November's 148,000. The unemployment rate is projected to remain at 7.7 percent. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
-
In this Wednesday, Dec. 12 2012 photo, Taneshia Wright, of Manhattan, fills out a job application during a job fair in New York. U.S. employers added 155,000 jobs in December, a steady gain that shows hiring held up during the tense negotiations to resolve the fiscal cliff. The solid job growth wasn’t enough to push down the unemployment rate, which remained 7.8 percent last month, the Labor Department said Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. The rate for November was revised up from an initially reported 7.7 percent. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
-
FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012 file photo, an advertisement in the classified section of the Boston Herald newspaper calls attention to possible employment opportunities in Walpole, Mass. U.S. employers added 155,000 jobs in December, a steady gain that shows hiring held up during the tense negotiations to resolve the fiscal cliff. The solid job growth wasn’t enough to push down the unemployment rate, which remained 7.8 percent last month, the Labor Department said Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. The rate for November was revised up from an initially reported 7.7 percent. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
-
FILE - In this Aug. 14, 2012, file photo, a customer walks past building products at a Home Depot store in Nashville, Tenn. A boost from the gradually recovering housing market helped Home Depot's net income edge up in its fiscal third quarter_the world's biggest home-improvement retailer said Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012, that its net income rose to $947 million, or 63 cents per share for quarter that ended Oct. 28. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
Orbitz shares up on revenue gains
Orbitz Worldwide Inc.'s shares jumped Friday after the online travel company's fourth-quarter revenue exceeded market expectations, and there were signs that its hotel business was improving.
THE SPARK: Orbitz said Thursday that its loss for the quarter had widened as it wrote down the value of some assets. But its revenue increased 7 percent to $189.7 million, beating the $184.9 million that analysts polled by FactSet had anticipated.
For this year, Orbitz expects revenue to grow 2.5 to 5 percent — to about $798 million to $818 million. That bracketed what had been analysts' prediction: $809 million.
THE BIG PICTURE: Orbitz got a boost from more hotel room bookings and higher ad revenue. It also made more per hotel and air deal.
Orbitz has struggled recently with weaker demand due to the impact of the tough economy on consumers.
THE ANALYSIS: Stifel analyst Michael Purcell said that hotel trends are improving for Orbitz, but he believes it still faces some pressure in its U.S. flight-booking business. He said he remains concerned about competition and maintained a "Hold" rating.
SHARE ACTION: Orbitz shares increased 17 cents, or 5.4 percent, to $3.31 by Friday afternoon. Its shares are slowly recovering after taking a sharp dive this summer. The stock has traded between $2.07 and $4.75 in the past 52 weeks.
Tags:
factset, orbitz, orbitz worldwide inc., cents, thursday, assets, loss, value, impact, share action, spark, rating, signs, percent, competition, hotel, prediction, stock, market expectations, boost, business, big picture, analysts, revenue, fourth-quarter revenue, friday afternoon, online travel company, hotel business, orbitz shares, travel agency, cheaptickets, higher ad revenue, stifel analyst michael, hotel room bookings, revenue gains, u.s. flight-booking business, weaker demand, tough economy, air deal, sharp dive, hotel trends, purcell
Print Page
