Shares of ZipRealty on Friday slumped to their lowest level since the real estate company went public last year after it reported earnings on Thursday that missed its own estimate and were below Wall Street’s expectations.
ZipRealty stock on Friday fell $4.74, or 36 percent, to $8.43 a share on the Nasdaq, where it was the biggest percentage loser. Zip went public in November of 2004 at $13 per share.
The company’s stock sank even further Monday, trading at $8.20 a share.
After Thursday’s market close, the company announced a net income of $2.9 million for third-quarter 2005, or 11 cents a share, compared with $1.3 million in third-quarter 2004. The company in August had forecast earnings between 12 and 14 cents per share.
ZipRealty’s third-quarter net revenues were $28.2 million, a 61 percent increase over the $17.6 million in third-quarter 2004.
At the end of the third quarter, the company employed 1,383 agents, up from 1,235 at the end of the second quarter and up 77 percent from 782 at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2004. Also, the company reported that the total value of real estate transactions closed by its agents increased about 65 percent to $1.36 billion in third-quarter 2005 from $823 million in third-quarter 2004.
The number of transactions closed in third-quarter 2005 increased 56 percent to 3,689 versus 2,371 in third-quarter 2004, and average net revenue per transaction increased to $7,475 in the third quarter of 2005, compared to $7,215 in the third quarter of 2004. Next year, average net revenue per transaction is expected to fall off to about $7,000, said Gary M. Beasley, executive vice president and chief financial officer at ZipRealty.
Revenues between $21 million to $23 million are expected for the fourth-quarter, Beasley said, with an expected net income per diluted share between 2 cents to 4 cents.
For the full year ended Dec. 31, 2006, management expects revenues to be between $130 million and $135 million, with the midpoint of this range representing a nearly 40 percent year-over-year increase. The company also expects pre-tax income per diluted share for fiscal 2006 to be between 40 cents to 45 cents.
ZipRealty is a full-service residential real estate company that operates in 14 major metropolitan areas in 10 states and in Washington, D.C. The company’s Web site enables home buyers and sellers to access local multiple listing services, home listings data, and other relevant information.
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