Expedia tops 2Q targets

January 28, 2002 Posted: 2144 GMT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -- Online travel service Expedia Inc. posted fiscal second-quarter earnings that more than tripled Wall Street forecasts for the period.

The company earned $19 million, or 31 cents a share, excluding non-recurring and non-cash charges, for its second quarter ending Dec. 31. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call were forecasting only 10 cents a share for the period. The company lost $3 million, or 6 cents a share, on the same basis a year earlier.

The company also posted record revenue of $81.8 million, up 84 percent from year-earlier revenue of $44.4 million, and easily topping the First Call forecast of $67.3 million.

Shares of Expedia (EXPE: Research, Estimates) gained $4.02, or 8.6 percent, to $51.02 in trading Monday ahead of the earnings report, as rumors circulated that it would top forecasts.