Monster revenue to miss forecast
BOSTON (Reuters) - Monster Worldwide Inc. MNST.O, parent of jobs Web site Monster.com, said on Wednesday it expects first-quarter revenue below its prior forecast due to slower growth in its North American Internet advertising businesses, sending its shares down more than 13 percent.
The company said it expects to report revenue of $328 million to $329 million for the quarter, ended March 31, below the $330 million to $338 million range it had previously forecast.
Analysts, on average, expected $333.7 million, with profit forecast at 35 cents per share for the quarter, according to Reuters Estimates.
The New York-based company's shares fell $6.65 to $41.86 in morning trading on the Nasdaq. Earlier, they had traded as low as $41.26.
"The U.S. demand environment remains favorable but has softened somewhat," wrote UBS Investment Research analyst Kelly Flynn, in a note to clients. "The advertising shortfall reflects more company-specific execution issues."
Monster said it expects overall 2007 financial results to meet its previous guidance. The company in February said it expects full-year revenue of $1.36 billion to $1.41 billion.
It did not provide a profit forecast, saying that it was unclear what expenses it would face as a result of a probe into its stock-options practices.
Analysts expect full-year profit of $1.61 per share on revenue of $1.4 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
The drop pushed Monster shares into negative territory for the year, down 10.4 percent to their lowest point since November. By way of comparison, the Morgan Stanley Internet Index .MOX, is up 5.6 percent for the year.
Monster is one of more than 170 U.S. companies facing government or internal investigations into the possible manipulation of stock-option grant dates.
In December, Monster said a review of its stock-options practices revealed that the company overstated its profit by $271.9 million from 1997 to 2005. That news came two months after its founder and chief executive, Andrew McKelvy, resigned from the company after refusing to be interviewed for the company's internal stock options probe.
In February, the company's former general counsel, Myron Olesnyckyj, pleased guilty to criminal charges related to backdating.
