ValueClick, 24/7 Real Media Report Earnings

ValueClick blew by its own guidance for the third quarter, posting a profit of $7.6 million, or $0.09 per share, more than three times higher than the year-ago period. Meanwhile, 24/7 Real Media lost $1.7 million, or $0.04 per share.

“Our better-than-expected third quarter results demonstrate the continued success of our multi-channel approach,” said James Zarley, chairman and CEO of ValueClick. Zarley said the company was getting “good traction” in its media and affiliate marketing businesses.

The company brought in revenues of $43.5 million in the quarter, having earlier given guidance of $37 to $39 million.

The good performance, and an improved outlook for the fourth quarter, prompted the company to raise guidance for the full year 2004. For the fourth quarter, ValueClick expects revenue of around $47 million, which would result in net income per share of $0.10.

For the full year, ValueClick raised its revenue guidance from $150 to $154 million to around $162 million. For 2005, ValueClick confirmed its previously issued guidance of approximately $210 million in revenue, resulting in net income per share of between $0.34 and $0.36.

24/7 Real Media, for its part, reported revenue in the third quarter grew to $20.8 million, as compared to $12 million for the year-ago period. Revenue also grew sequentially, rising 6.2 percent from the second quarter.

The company said its net loss was negatively affected by one-time costs related to compliance with the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley.

Revenue for the company’s media solutions division, which includes the 24/7 Web Alliance network of Web sites, came in at $12.1 million. The sale of one of 24/7’s biggest publishers, Lycos, to South Korea’s Daum Communications, resulted in some uncertainty for the division, but company executives said they were confident in not only holding onto Lycos but potentially beginning to serve Daum as well.

The search solutions unit pulled in revenue of $4.1 million in the quarter. The search unit includes the recently-acquired Decide Interactive and 24/7 Search.

Technology revenue climbed to $4.6 million in the period, driven by impression growth from hosted products and new client wins, the company said.

24/7 Real Media expects fourth quarter income to come in between $26 million and $28 million, and full-year revenue to be in the range of $84 million to $86 million.