 |
|
 |
 |


AQUANTIVE REPORTS STRONG Q4 RESULTS
Company Exceeds Fourth Quarter Guidance in Revenue and Profit;
Business Units Continue Rapid Growth
Seattle - Feb 16, 2005 – aQuantive, Inc. (NASDAQ: AQNT), a digital marketing services and technology company, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2004.
Fourth quarter highlights include:
- Revenue of $60.7 million, an increase of 228 percent from net revenue¹ of the comparable year-ago period. Fourth quarter 2004 results include contributions from Razorfish and other 2004 acquisitions.
- Net income of $7.1 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, an increase of 74 percent from the comparable year-ago period.
- EBITDA² of $13.4 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, an increase of 189 percent from the comparable year-ago period.
- i-FRONTIER announces name change to Avenue A | Razorfish. Avenue A | Razorfish is now the single brand representing aQuantive’s digital marketing services business in the U.S.
“We are very pleased with our fourth quarter and full year results, as each of our operating segments had an exceptional quarter and beat our performance goals,” said Brian McAndrews, president and CEO of aQuantive. “2004 marked another great year for aQuantive, which recorded strong organic growth of 59 percent and completed a number of strategic acquisitions that improve the long-term outlook of our business. We believe this momentum positions us very well to reinforce our industry leadership position with continued strong revenue growth and profitability in 2005.”
2004 Fourth Quarter Results
For the quarter ended December 31, 2004, aQuantive reported revenue of $60.7 million, compared to net revenue of $18.5 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2003. Net income for the fourth quarter 2004 was $7.1 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, compared to $4.1 million, or $0.06 per diluted share for the fourth quarter 2003. EBITDA was $13.4 million for the fourth quarter 2004, or $0.18 per diluted share, compared to $4.6 million, or $0.07 per diluted share for the fourth quarter 2003.
2004 Full Year Results
For the full year 2004, aQuantive reported revenue of $157.9 million, compared to net revenue of $64.1 million for 2003. Net income for the full year 2004 was $42.9 million, or $0.62 cents per diluted share, compared to $11.8 million, or $0.17 cents per diluted share for 2003. Excluding the $20.6 million income tax benefit recorded in third quarter 2004 to reduce the valuation allowance on net deferred tax assets not previously realized, 2004 full year net income was $22.3 million, or $0.33 cents per diluted share. For the full year 2004, EBITDA was $35.6 million, or $0.51 cents per diluted share, compared to EBITDA of $14.4 million, or $0.21 cents per diluted share for 2003.
¹Net Revenue for 2003 is a non-GAAP financial measure as it excludes media costs paid to publishers. Effective January 1, 2004, Avenue A, now Avenue A | Razorfish, began recording revenue exclusive of media costs as a result of contractual changes with advertisers and publishers. The Company has shown net revenue in 2003 to allow for better comparability with its 2004 results.
²EBITDA (or earnings before net interest, net other income, income tax, depreciation and amortization) is a non-GAAP financial measure. See supplemental schedule of EBITDA reconciliation to GAAP net income.
aQuantive operates three business segments. Segment information is as follows:
Digital Marketing Services
aQuantive’s digital marketing services (DMS) segment, consisting of interactive agency
Avenue A | Razorfish, had fourth quarter revenue of $36.7 million, compared to 2003 fourth quarter net revenue of $8.8 million. Operating income for the fourth quarter of 2004 was $3.8 million, compared to operating income of $1.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2003.
2004 highlights for this segment included the acquisition of SBI.Razorfish in July to form Avenue A | Razorfish, the industry’s largest independent interactive agency; as well as the launch of Avenue A | Razorfish Search, the industry’s largest, in-house Search Engine Marketing (SEM) agency, in October.
Digital Marketing Technologies
aQuantive’s digital marketing technologies (DMT) segment, consisting of Atlas DMT, had revenue of $18.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2004, compared to revenue of $9.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2003. Operating income for the fourth quarter of 2004 was $9.2 million, compared to $3.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2003.
2004 highlights for this segment included the acquisition of NetConversions, a website usability technology company in February; the launch of Atlas Search, the industry’s only integrated search and ad campaign management tool in May; and the July acquisition of TechnologyBrokers, the European based reseller of Atlas DMT.
Digital Performance Media
aQuantive’s digital performance media (DPM) segment consists of DRIVEpm and European-based MediaBrokers. This segment had revenue of $5.1 million and an operating income of $645,000 in the fourth quarter of 2004.
2004 highlights included the introduction of this business segment through the launch of DRIVEpm at the first of the year; July acquisition of MediaBrokers, a performance media company that serves as the European-arm of this business; and first-time profitability for the segment in the third quarter.
2005 Financial Guidance
The company expects first quarter results as follows:
- Revenue of $55-$59 million
- Net income of $0.02-$0.05 per diluted share, assuming an income tax rate of 40%
- EBITDA of $0.11-$0.13 per diluted share
The company expects full year 2005 results as follows:
- Revenue of $250-$260 million
- Net income of $0.21-$0.23 per diluted share, assuming an income tax rate of 40% and including an estimated pre-tax expense of approximately $9 million in the second half of the year for expensing stock options in accordance with current accounting requirements
- Adjusted EBITDA³ of $0.63-$0.70 per diluted share
³Adjusted EBITDA (or earnings before net interest, net other income, income tax, depreciation and amortization, and stock option expense) is a non-GAAP financial measure.
Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2004 Conference Call/Webcast Today at 8am PT/11am ET
aQuantive, Inc. will host a conference call/Webcast to discuss fourth quarter and full year 2004 financial results today at 8am PT/11am ET. The conference call will be webcast from the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.aquantive.com/investor. Interested parties should log on to the webcast approximately 15 minutes prior to download any necessary software. The webcast is not interactive.
About aQuantive, Inc.
aQuantive, Inc. (NASDAQ: AQNT), a digital marketing services and technology company, was founded in 1997 to help marketers acquire, retain and grow customers across all digital media. Through its operating units, full-service interactive agency Avenue A | Razorfish (www.avenuea-razorfish.com), Atlas DMT (www.atlasdmt.com), a provider of advertising technology solutions, and DRIVEpm (www.drivepm.com), a performance media company, aQuantive, Inc. is positioned to bring value to any interaction in the digital marketplace. aQuantive, Inc. (www.aquantive.com) is headquartered in Seattle. Atlas DMT is a member of the NAI and adheres to the NAI privacy principles that have been applauded by the FTC. These principles are designed to help ensure Internet user privacy. For more information about online data collection associated with ad serving, including online preference marketing and an opportunity to opt-out of the Atlas DMT cookie, go to: www.networkadvertising.org.
Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "predicts," and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that the statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements also include any other passages that relate to expected future events or trends that can only be evaluated by events or trends that will occur in the future. The forward-looking statements in this release include, without limitation, statements regarding expected financial performance for the first quarter of 2005 and for the full year 2005. The forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the time the statements were made and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the risk that the company may not successfully complete the integration of companies it acquired in 2004, including Razorfish, TechnologyBrokers and MediaBrokers, the risk that the company may incur unforeseen expenses relating to such acquisitions, the risk that stock option expense may be significantly different than estimated due to number of options granted or the expense method adopted by the company, the risk of unforeseen changes in client online advertising budgets, unanticipated loss of clients, the potential failure to attract new clients due to the company's inability to competitively market its services, the risk of fluctuating demand for its advertising services, the potential failure to maintain current, desired client relationships or to achieve effective advertising campaigns for existing clients, potential deterioration or slower-than-expected development of the Internet advertising market, quarterly and seasonal fluctuations in operating results, timing variations on the part of advertisers to implement advertising campaigns, costs and risks related to acquisitions of technologies, businesses or brands, the short term nature of the company's contracts with clients, which generally are cancelable on 90 days' or less notice, and the uncertainties, potential costs, and possible business impacts of new legislation or unfavorable rulings in previously announced lawsuits involving the company. More information about factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted in aQuantive's forward-looking statements is set out in its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2004, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon these forward-looking statements, which speak only as to the date of this release. Except as required by law, aQuantive, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking or other statements in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.





|
 |