Priceline Group Inc. gave a disappointing outlook for its current quarter as bookings are expected to slow and foreign currency effects weigh on its performance, despite posting a better-than-expected 19.4% surge in revenue in its December-ended quarter.
The company said it expects to post adjusted per-share earnings of $7.20 to $7.75 , sharply missing the $8.52 a share in earnings analysts had expected, according to Thomson Reuters . The company expects its revenue to grow 4% to 11% , missing analysts' expectations for 14% growth, as gross bookings growth is expected to slow to 2% to 9%.
Priceline warned in November that the dollar's rise was hurting the buying power of travelers outside the U.S., leading some to rethink trips or downgrade to cheaper hotels. In the latest quarter, a 19% increase in international bookings helped drive gross bookings 17% higher to $10.7 billion .
Travel websites have focused on rewards programs lately to fend off airlines and hotels eager to cut out the middleman by luring travelers to their own websites. Companies like Priceline and Expedia Inc. make more money from hotel bookings than flights, using low airfares to get customers in the door.
Priceline's growth over the past decade has been largely through the acquisitions of travel websites like Booking.com and Kayak.com. Its $2.6 billion acquisition of OpenTable, completed this summer, expanded the online travel giant's offerings into a new field of restaurant bookings.
On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Priceline plans to buy hotel-booking startup Rocketmiles for about $20 million through its venture unit, a move that would help Priceline encourage customers to book lodging through its network, rather than booking directly with hotels, which offer their own rewards to lure users to their sites.
The deal comes as Expedia seeks regulators' approval for its $1.34 billion deal to take over rival Orbitz . That would leave the U.S.'s and Europe's most familiar travel websites under the control of just two companies: Expedia and Priceline .
For the latest quarter, Priceline reported a profit of $451.8 million , or $8.56 a share, up from $378.1 million , or $7.14 a share, a year earlier. Excluding special items, per-share earnings were $10.85 .
Revenue grew to $1.84 billion from $1.54 billion a year earlier.
The company had projected earnings of $9.40 to $10.10 a share and revenue growth of about 11% to 18%, guidance that was well below consensus estimates at the time.
The company also said Thursday that it has authorized an additional $3 billion in share repurchases.
News 
Market Data 
Discover 
