10-Q Watch: Scripps May Be Solving Some Of Shopzilla’s Problems
By Staci D. Kramer - Mon 12 May 2008 11:06 PM PST
On the verge of splitting into two publicly traded companies, E.W. Scripps (NYSE: SSP) suggests it may be solving some of the problems with Shopzilla. From the 10-Q filed Monday: “The growth for the quarter was driven by improvements at Shopzilla that allowed the business to more efficiently increase and monetize user traffic.” Meanwhile, cost cutting continues to be the approach for uSwitch. Both properties will be part of Scripps Interactive. “We continue to focus on making improvements to the consumer experience at Shopzilla and driving traffic to the site, and we plan to continue to operate uSwitch with a pared down cost structure to better manage through the changes in energy switching activity we have experienced in recent periods.”
-- Operating revenues at Shopzilla were $63.0 million for 1Q08, compared with $48.9 million in 1Q07. “The increase was primarily attributed to paid session growth derived from an increase in bidding on keywords. Shopzilla’s net revenue, when considering search marketing costs incurred, increased 34% for the first quarter of 2008 compared with the first quarter of 2007.”
-- International: “We anticipate that about 75% of our international revenues, which will approximate $130 million in 2008, will be provided from the United Kingdom and Japanese markets.”
