DoubleClick's amazing shrinking losses

DoubleClick announced yesterday that its third-quarter net loss has shrunk by 40 per cent, in part helped by selling some of its operations.

The internet marketing company reported a net loss of $62m, or 46 cents a share, on revenue of $74.6m for the quarter ended 30 September. That compares with a net loss of $103.5m, or 77 cents, on revenue of $92.7m a year ago.

Excluding one-time gains from the sale of its North American media business and @plan research business, as well as other one-time charges, DoubleClick posted pro forma earnings of $6.6m, or five cents a share. The company attributed its pro forma profit to the divestiture of less profitable businesses and managing costs.

Analysts estimated the company would earn one cent a share, according to First Call.

DoubleClick CFO Bruce Dalziel said in a statement: "We are very focused on profitability and generating cash and that is coming through in our performance for the third quarter. We have proven we can deliver strong performance in a difficult economic environment.".

The company also noted its fourth-quarter revenue is expected to range between $62m and $66m, with pro forma earnings falling between a loss of one cent and a profit of one cent. Analysts are expecting the company to earn a one cent profit for the fourth quarter.

Shares of DoubleClick fell in after-hours trading to $5.33. During the regular session, the stock closed up five cents, or nearly one per cent, to $6.03.

In a separate announcement, DoubleClick and Macromedia said they are developing a technology platform to deliver advertisements created with the Flash animation tool.

The partnership comes as web publishers are increasingly allowing so-called rich media advertisements. In recent months, Yahoo and AOL, among others, have signed partnerships with EyeBlaster, EyeWonder and Unicast to deliver floating web ads, expandable banners and pop-ups that can deliver TV-quality commercials.

Stefanie Olsen writes for News.com. Dawn Kawamoto contributed to this report