Priceline.com Inc. results are shining in the down economy, as the Norwalk-based travel discounter increased second quarter revenue 44 percent to $514 million, and profits by nearly $20 million to $54 million.
Gross travel bookings on Priceline.com Web sites increased 71 percent to $2.1 billion, more than half of it from international sites like Agoda.com and Booking.com thanks in part to favorable exchange rates and increased hotel participation on the sites.
“We have ”¦ 52,000 hotels in Europe, which is dramatically more than our nearest competitor, and a lot of outstanding content and very broad geographic coverage,” said Jeffery Boyd, CEO of Priceline.com, in a conference call with investors in early August. “All of those things give you ”¦ a vehicle to market to very, very large numbers of folks, and I think that”™s been very beneficial to us in Europe.”
During the quarter, Priceline.com finalized plans to open a 400-employee call center in Wyoming, Mich., near Grand Rapids, serving Booking.com customers.
A new Frontier
The new Frontier Communications Corp. had a 3 percent drop in second-quarter revenue to $563 million, in part due to customers dropping 45,000 telephone lines.
On July 31, the Stamford-based company jettisoned its former Citizens Communications moniker in favor of Frontier, having long marketed telecommunications service under that brand.
Quadrangle quadrille continues
In the second quarter, Westport-based Greenfield Online Inc. met financial covenants required by Quadrangle Group L.L.C., as the New York City-based private equity fund finalizes a buyout of the company.
Greenfield Online puts together survey panels for market research companies, and runs a secret-shopper service to assess retailer services.
In the second quarter, Greenfield Online earned $2 million in net income and $36 million in revenue. The company also stayed above the $40 million mark over the trailing 12 months for earnings before taxes, interest, depreciation and amortization, a condition of the Quadrangle deal.
In early August, Greenfield Online revealed it had received an acquisition offer at a higher price than what Quadrangle had offered, but elected to keep its existing deal with Quadrangle.
Aircastle cancels jet orders
Jet-leasing company Aircastle Ltd. made revenue gains between the first and second quarter of 2008 and remains profitable, but the company”™s sales have been hit hard in the downturn in the aviation industry.
Stamford-based Aircastle reported net income of $38 million in the second quarter, up from $35 million a year ago, even as year-over-year sales dove 44 percent to $82 million.
At the end of the second quarter, the company has 135 passenger and freight jets in its fleet. In July, Aircastle reduced its purchase commitments for Airbus”™ new A330 from 15 jets to 12, and reached agreements to sell two Boeing jets in its fleet.
G&W lays rails in Ohio
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. continues to make steam in 2008, announcing a deal to acquire Ohio Central Railroad System for $219 million.
In the second quarter, the Greenwich-based railroad operator earned $15 million on $153 million in revenue, up 22 percent from a year earlier. The company was able to overcome the impact of higher diesel prices and flooding in the Midwest that delayed some coal shipments.
For the first time ever last week, the company”™s shares traded above the $45 mark.
Taxman boosts SIG
A whopping $31 million income tax credit pushed Stamford Industrial Group Inc.”™s profits into record territory, as sales increased as well for its steel counterweights used in cranes and elevators made by its Concord steel subsidiary in Chicago and Warren, Ohio.
SIG reported net income totaling $37 million in the second quarter, as revenue increased by half to $42 million.
Outsourcing propels ISG gains
Stamford-based Information Services Group Inc. had a $2.4 million profit on $51 million in revenue in the second quarter, after establishing an outsourcing consultancy through its $230 million acquisition of Houston-based TPI.
On a pro-forma basis, ISG revenue was up 20 percent from the second quarter of 2007. In July, a TPI index on the outsourcing industry registered its best gain of any second quarter since 2000.
Since its shares commenced trading in February, ISG stock was down 25 percent through mid-August.
IHC portfolio hit
Citing continued turmoil in the credit markets, Independence Holdings Co. lost $10 million on devalued preferred stock it holds in its investment portfolio, resulting in a $6 million net loss for the second quarter.
The Stamford-based company sells life and health insurance.
