Online travel services giant Booking Holdings Inc., formerly known as Priceline Group, on Feb. 27 reported a loss in the fourth quarter of 2017 but said it expects to return to profit in the first three months of 2018.
For the three months ended Dec. 31, 2017, net loss was $555.5 million, or $11.41 per share, down from a profit of $673.9 million, or $13.66 per share, in the year-ago period. The S&P Capital IQ EPS consensus estimate was $14.12.
For the first quarter ending March 31, Booking forecasts net income to come in between $445 million and $465 million, or between $9.05 and $9.45 per diluted share. Revenue is expected to grow between 17.5% and 21.5%, while gross travel bookings are predicted to increase by 14.5% to 18.5%.
Fourth-quarter results were affected by an unexpected loss due to a $1.3 billion expense related to the recent U.S. tax reform, according to the company, which primarily operates websites such as Booking.com and Kayak.com.
Excluding special items, Booking's net income was $836 million, an 18% year-over-year growth, or $16.86 per diluted share.
Revenue for the fourth quarter jumped 19% year over year to $2.8 billion from $2.35 billion. The total dollar value of gross travel bookings, including taxes and fees, grew 19% year over year during the fourth quarter to $18 billion.
For the full year ended Dec. 31, 2017, Booking recorded net income of $2.34 billion, up from $2.13 billion for full year 2016. Diluted EPS came in at $46.86, up from $42.65 in the previous year but below the S&P Capital IQ consensus estimate of $74.46.
Total revenue for full year 2017 was $12.68 billion, up from $10.74 billion in the prior year.
