Image source: Criteo SA.
What: Shares of Criteo SA (CRTO 5.27%) were up 10.4% as of 3:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday after the advertising-retargeting company released stronger-than-expected third-quarter 2016 results.
So what: Quarterly revenue jumped 27% year over year (25% at constant currency), to $424 million, while revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs (ex-TAC) grew 32% (30% at constant currency), to $177 million.
On the bottom line, Criteo's adjusted net income jumped 175% year over year, to $31 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, up from $11 million, or $0.17 per share in last year's third quarter. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBTIDA) climbed 55% (51% at constant currency), to $54 million.
By comparison, Criteo's guidance called for lower revenue ex-TAC between $170 million and $174 million, with adjusted EBITDA between $42 million and $46 million.
Criteo CFO Benoit Fouilland added, "We continue to deliver rapid growth and expanding profitability. Our ability to drive operating leverage while investing in the business demonstrates the scalability of our model."
Now what: For the current quarter, Criteo expects revenue ex-TAC of between $207 million and $210 million, and adjusted EBITDA between $72 million and $75 million. As a result, Criteo also increased its full-year guidance, and now expects fiscal 2016 revenue growth of between 33% and 34% at constant currency (up from between 30% and 34% previously), with adjusted EBITDA margin as a percentage of revenue to increase between 120 basis points and 140 basis points (up from between 60 basis points and 100 basis points previously).
Note both these guidance ranges exclude contributions from Criteo's impending acquisition of HookLogic, a New York-based company specializing in connecting e-commerce retailers with consumer brand manufacturers.
This earnings report is a straightforward beat-and-raise scenario from Criteo. And considering Criteo not only saw its top-line growth accelerate but also increased its profitability expectations as a percentage of total revenue, it's no surprise to see shares trading significantly higher today.
