After announcing earlier this month that its Global Media group posted 65 percent lower net revenue for the third quarter compared with last year, DoubleClick Inc. eliminated some positions in the group. The company said the cuts were in line with its effort to achieve profitability in 2002.
In a statement, DoubleClick reiterated remarks made in a conference call Oct. 11, in which it warned more job cuts would be coming in the fourth quarter.
“As we stated [in the Oct. 11] earning call, DoubleClick plans to be profitable for the full-year of 2002,” the statement read. “In line with that commitment, we stated that we were going to be taking steps to cut expenses and to run our businesses more efficiently. The steps we took [Oct. 17] in our media division are absolutely in line with that commitment. As a result, we have greatly increased the percentage of people associated with increasing revenue in that division.”
The statement did not mention the number of employees let go in this round of job cuts, but sources said 20 of the media group's 88 employees were let go. DoubleClick has more than 1,500 employees, down from about 1,650 in the third quarter.
The company said Oct. 11 its loss for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 rose to $103.5 million, or 77 cents per share, from $10.7 million last year, or 9 cents per share.
It also reported lower net revenue of $92.7 million for the quarter, down 31 percent from $135.2 million a year ago.
DoubleClick's media group posted $22.2 million in net revenue, down from $64.3 million a year earlier. The company forecasts fourth-quarter media revenue of $20 million to $23 million.
