aQuantive Gets M&A Magic

Despite the failure at Hewlett-Packard (Nasdaq: HPQ), mergers appear to be hip again. In fact, megamergers seem to be the way for big companies, such as Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG)/Gillette (NYSE: G), Sprint (NYSE: FON)/Nextel (Nasdaq: NXTL), and so on, to find growth.

But mergers and acquisitions aren't just for the big boys; midsized companies can benefit as well. This appears to be the case with aQuantive (Nasdaq: AQNT), which has been rolling up various online interactive marketing companies.

Yesterday, the company reported its fourth-quarter results. Revenues increased 228% to $60.7 million. And the company didn't sacrifice profitability for the surge in revenues. In fact, net income increased 74% to $7.1 million. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization were $13.4 million in the fourth quarter.

Basically, all business segments are humming at aQuantive, and the strength is expected to continue throughout 2005. The company expects revenues of $55million to $59 million in the first quarter of 2005, with net income ranging from $0.02 to $0.05 per diluted share. Expectations for all of 2005 include revenues of $250million to $260 million, with net income of $0.21 to $0.23 per diluted share.

Through its acquisitions, aQuantive has three divisions. The Digital Marketing Services segment, created through the recent Avenue A/Razorfish acquisition, provides interactive marketing services for clients. The Digital Marketing Technologies segment provides software solutions that allow clients to plan, analyze, and manage online marketing campaigns. And the Digital Performance Media segment is a liaison between online publishers and advertisers for buying blocks of online ad inventory and reselling it on a highly targeted basis.

The surge in online advertising, which is boosting the performance of companies like Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), is certainly benefiting aQuantive. With its stock price starting to move, aQuantive may be ready to get even more deals done.

Fool contributor Tom Taulli does not own shares mentioned in this article.