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RetailMeNot shares drop after earnings report [Austin American-Statesman :: ](Austin American-Statesman (TX) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 04-- Shares of Austin-based RetailMeNot took a hit Monday after the company reported revenue that was just short of Wall Street expectations. The digital coupon company's stock dropped 22 percent, or $5.55, to $19.75 a share in after hours trading. The company released second quarter earnings after markets closed. RetailMeNot reported revenue of $59.5 million for the quarter ended June 30. That was a 37 percent increase over the same quarter a year earlier. But it fell shy of analysts' expectation of $60.2 million. Net income was $4.3 million, down 16 percent from the year-ago quarter. The company said the decline was the result of increased investment in product development, sales and marketing and higher stock-based compensation. Founded in 2009 as WhaleShark, RetailMeNot has become the world's leading online marketplace for coupon and consumer deals, mostly by buying smaller websites. In 2010, it bought RetailMeNot, an Australian company that built one of the largest coupon sites in the world. The company changed its name to RetailMeNot last year. Today, it runs digital coupon sites around the world, including in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. RetailMeNot has about 475 employees, including about 325 in Austin. CEO Cotter Cunningham has said the company plans to hire up to 70 employees here this year. The company said visits to its sites increased 27 percent in the quarter to 154.2 million. Mobile usage also continues to grow. As of June 20, 18.5 million mobile apps have been downloaded from RetailMeNot sites, up from 7.1 million a year ago. RetailMeNot is also testing new markets, including location-based coupons at special events. Earlier this year, the company signed a partnership deal with The Circuit of the Americas allowing it to distribute coupons for events at the Austin racetrack. The company also has announced a partnership with Chicago-based shopping mall developer General Growth Properties. The deal makes RetailMeNot the preferred digital coupon provider for the company's malls. That allows merchants to make special mobile offers to shoppers who are nearby. "Our results continue to demonstrate the value of our multi-channel services that help consumers save money and enable retailers to increase sales in the United States and international markets," Cotter said in a written statement. "Overall we saw strong growth in consumer usage and engagement across platforms." RetailMeNot raised $191 million in an initial public offering in July 2013. In December 2013, the company completed a follow-on offering of 2 million shares at $26 per share. ___ (c)2014 Austin American-Statesman, Texas Visit Austin American-Statesman, Texas at www.statesman.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |