LONDON, Aug. 7, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- lastminute.com (Nasdaq:LMIN) today announces strong Quarter 3 results for the three months to 30 June 2002.
-- Customer conversion rate improves to 20.7% from 12.4% in Quarter 3 2001 and from 18.3% in Quarter 2 2002 and cumulative customer numbers since inception are now at record levels, in excess of 1.0 million -- Total transaction value for the Quarter grew by 108.4% year on year and 49.8% quarter on quarter to 61.0 million pounds (Q3 2001: 29.3m pounds, Q2 2002: 40.8m pounds -- Gross profit for the Quarter grew by 90.9% year on year and 28.5% quarter on quarter to 7.9 million jpounds (Q3 2001: 4.1m pounds, Q2 2002: 6.1m pounds -- EBITDA loss reduced to 1.9 million pounds for the Quarter, a reduction of 75.6% year on year and 39.9% quarter on quarter (Q3 2001: loss 7.8m pounds , Q2 2002: loss 3.2m pounds -- Loss (before goodwill amortisation and taxation) down 57.0% year on year and 24.5% quarter on quarter to 4.0 million pounds (Q3 2001: loss 9.3m pounds, Q2 2002: loss 5.3m pounds -- Operating cash outflow of 3.2 million pounds for the Quarter, a reduction of 62.2% year on year (Q3 2001: 8.6m pounds. The increased operating cash outflow quarter on quarter of 1.9 million pounds is in line with expectations (Q2 2002: 1.4m pounds -- Cash balance grows to 41.5 million pounds at 30 June 2002 -- In July 2002 lastminute.com plc announced the proposed acquisition of Travelprice.com SA, one of the largest online travel and leisure providers in France and Italy
Allan Leighton, Chairman, said: "These results demonstrate the further shift towards Group profitability and positive cashflow. All metrics show underlying improvement and development."
Brent Hoberman, Chief Executive Officer, added: "The integration of Travelselect and The Destination Group is progressing well and will be completed by 30 September 2002. This Quarter has been key in terms of the strategic acquisitions which will add considerably to shareholder value and create a step change in the scale of the business."
High resolution photographs will be available to media at www.vismedia.co.uk
Notes to Editors: About lastminute.com lastminute.com operates directly in six European countries and participates in four international joint ventures, providing inspirations and solutions for customers at the last minute. At 30 June 2002 lastminute.com had over 5.6 million subscribers to its weekly newsletter and had established approximately 15,300 supplier relationships. lastminute.com remains the leading independent European travel and leisure site across six countries.
The business is based on the idea of matching supply and demand. lastminute.com offers consumers opportunities to acquire airline tickets, hotel rooms, package holidays, entertainment tickets, restaurant reservations and food delivery, speciality services, gifts and auctions in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, Australia, South Africa and most recently Japan. The travel portfolio of lastminute.com has been further supplemented by the acquisition of Travelselect.com and The Destination Group in April 2002 and June 2002 respectively.
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