MyPoints.com Says Fourth Quarter Loss Will Be Wider Than Expected
MyPoints.com, an online direct marketer and loyalty program provider, said its loss for the fourth quarter last year will be wider than analysts expected largely because of its purchase of Cybergold Inc.The San Francisco company said Friday that it expects to post a loss in the range of $16.5 million to $18.5 million, or a loss of 41 cents to 46 cents per share for the quarter. Analysts had been expecting a loss of 33 cents per share, according to First Call/Thomson Financial. MyPoints.com said its revenues for the fourth quarter should be $12.5 million to $14.5 million.
MyPoints.com attributed its poor financial performance to larger-than-expected expenses associated with its integration of online loyalty program provider Cybergold, which it acquired in August in an all-stock deal worth approximately $157 million.
"As cost-cutting measures instituted in the fourth quarter gain traction and with the Cybergold integration behind us, we expect to lower operating expenses in the first quarter of 2001," said Layton Han, president of MyPoints.com,
Those cost-cutting measures included the elimination of the chief operating officer position in December. The company said it was consolidating the COO's duties under Han and that COO Chaz Berman left the company.
MyPoints.com also is looking for a CEO and said it expects to say who that will be during the first quarter.
