ValueClick Adds to Sector's Good News

The good news just keeps on coming. Online advertising and marketing firm ValueClick Thursday reported record fourth quarter and full-year results for 2003.

ValueClick’s revenue for the quarter was $30.3 million, an impressive 61 percent increase over Q4 2002. The company’s net income was $5.3 million, or $0.07 per diluted common share, compared with net income of $1.8 million, or $0.02 per diluted common share, for Q4 2002.

The revenue boost is partly owed to the company’s extensive 2003 acquisitions. In December, ValueClick picked up top-tier affiliate marketing firm Commission Junction, six months after it added Search123 to its portfolio of Web marketing companies. The company said its fourth quarter results included a full quarter of Search123 operations and a month’s worth of revenue from Commission Junction.

The operations of email list company Hi-Speed Media, acquired in late December 2003, are not included in the Company’s results.

Results for the entire fiscal year 2003, while not quite as striking as those for the fourth quarter, are still an improvement over 2002. Total revenue for 2003 was $93 million, compared with the previous year’s $63 million. Net income for the year just ended was $10 million, compared with a net loss of $11 million for 2002.

The company raised its guidance for 2004 following the positive earnings report. Revenue estimates for the current year are now $145 to $148 million, up $3 million over the latest projections.

ValueClick became markedly more visible in 2003, and with its recent acquisitions and improved earnings the company hopes to remain that way. Rather than attempt to compete with the dominant players in online advertising and ad technology, the company has tried to portray itself as a one-stop shop, with offerings in nearly every category of Web marketing.