Real estate media and technology provider Homestore today reported a first-quarter loss of $5.1 million, or 4 cents per share, an improvement from its net loss of $12 million, or 10 cents a share, the previous quarter.
The loss compares with a net income of $87.2 million during the same quarter a year ago. That income included a $104 million one-time gain related to the settlement of Homestore’s distribution agreement with AOL.
Total revenue for the first quarter was $56.1 million, up from $54.9 million during the same quarter a year ago, representing the company’s first year-over-year quarterly revenue growth. The increase was due to Homestore’s media services segment, which added $1.7 million in revenue, and the software segment, which added $200,000, the company said. Revenue from the print segment decreased $600,000.
Homestore had $41.1 million in cash and short-term investments at the end of the first quarter. That compares with $5.5 million the previous quarter.
“We achieved several milestones in our first quarter, including our first year-over-year quarterly revenue growth, positive EBITDA and positive cash flows from operations,” Homestore CEO Mike Long said.
In April, Homestore placed in escrow the final $3 million of its cash settlement agreement relating to the shareholder class action lawsuit. Last October, the company agreed to pay the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) $13 million in cash and issue 20 million shares of newly issued common stock to the group, which was the lead plaintiff in the suit. The company placed $10 million of the cash settlement in escrow last fall.
“While our investment and repositioning efforts are ongoing, I believe these results demonstrate the significant value our solutions offer the real estate industry, and early returns on the investments the company has made over the last two years,” Long said.
Homestore (Nasdaq: HOMS) shares closed at $4.73 per share today, down 4.6 percent from the previous day’s close of $4.96.
Homestore also operates Realtor.com, the official Web site of the National Association of Realtors.
