Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq:ABTL) a leader in providing online consumer leads and marketing resources to auto dealers and manufacturers, announced yesterday its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2009.
Overall the company made some great progress from what was a crippling 2008. In 2009 the company experienced a 9-fold increase in leads, and it maintained a strong balance sheet with no debt and $25.1M cash on hand.
1. Net loss of $970,000/ $0.02 per share, excluding the severance-related costs and non-cash impairment charges, net loss for the 2008 fourth quarter was $4.5 million, or $0.10 per share.
2. $12.2M in revenue, down from $13.4 million for the 2009 third quarter
3. Gross margin of 39.1%, up from 35.5% in the 2009 third quarter
Revenue was down due to the seasonality of the auto industry and the cash for clunkers demand pull. In the 4th quarter dealers were not buying as many leads because they didn’t have the inventory to sell.
Autobytel has continued to integrate valuable tools and content from websites such as KBB and Edmunds, they also plan on optimizing advertising and getting a more user-friendly interface for their website. Management is confident that growth will continue into 2010.
The internet continues to be a huge research tool when coming to such a large purchase like an automobile. JD Powers recently reported that 76% of people use internet in the car shopping process. The internet remains the most cost effective, performance based marketing opportunity available to the auto industry. ABTL is looking poised for some top-line growth and profitability in the upcoming year; it will be interesting to see if the economic recovery helps in the matter.