ValueClick Beats Expectations in 3Q

Online advertising company ValueClick did better than expected in the third quarter, reporting $11 million in profits, or $0.11 per share, on $81.4 million in revenues. Revenues were up 87 percent from the year-ago quarter.

Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had expected revenue to come in around $78.7 million, with per-share earnings of $0.09.

Revenue growth was partly driven by the company’s acquisitions of comparison-shopping search engine PriceRunner, which it bought in August 2004, as well as E-Babylon and Webclients, both purchased in June 2005. The company also acquired ad network Fastclick in September 2005, but revenues from that purchase weren’t counted in the totals.

“We’re now ready to take the company to the next step,” said CEO Jim Zarley on a conference call with investors. “And on the M&A front, we’ll continue to look for companies that fit our strategic framework.”

Zarley also said ValueClick would continue to expand by introducing its products into more markets around the world.

The media segment was responsible for the bulk of the company’s growth, rising 135 percent over the same period in 2004. New affiliate marketing clients signed in the quarter include Quest, Vonage and American Greetings.

As it released its 3Q earnings, ValueClick raised its guidance for the rest of the year. It now expects to bring in between $299 million and $304 million in revenues, with net income coming in at between $0.43 and $0.45 per share.

For next year, the company predicts revenues will be somewhere between $480 million and $500 million, with resulting net income of between $0.53 and $0.59 per share.