Indianapolis-based Angie's List recorded the company's best quarter to date in the fourth quarter of 2014 when it turned a $15.3 million profit on income of $82.2 million, an increase of 19% over the previous year's quarter. That's the good news. The bad news is the company continued its unbroken streak of losing money every year of its nearly 20 years of existence. Although full-year revenues grew 28% last year to $315 million, the company still ended the year with a net loss of $12.1 million. That loss is lower than the $15.2 million the company lost in 2013.
Angie's List's performance continues to increase its reliance on revenues it generates from service providers its consumer subscribers rely upon the company to provide accurate information. Revenues from service providers grew 34% to $241.9 million, eclipsing the $73.1 million it earned from membership revenue, which grew by 12% in 2014. The company added more than 1.2 million member subscribers in 2014, a small increase in numbers over the previous year. It was also able to slightly cut the per average member cost of acquisition from $72 in 2013 to $72 in 2014.
Angie's List's stock price closed down yesterday at $4.89 ahead of its latest earnings report, which is well under its 52-week high of $15.03 but higher than its low of $4.36. The latest earnings news comes as the company has a pending proposal before the Indianapolis City-County Council, which would award the company $18.3 million in public subsidies for its corporate operations in downtown Indianapolis. That's in addition to the more than $14 million previously awarded to the company by state and local officials.
10 comments:
"I've got a great idea! Let's give a company that has NEVER made a profit in 20 years, about $20 MILLION TAX DOLLARS!!
Isn't that a great idea! We can call it corporate welfare!!
THUS SAYETH "L'IL GREG" THE RINO MARINE MAYOR.
The $15 million question: Did the company manipulate its fourth quarter earnings report to make things appear rosier than they are to make Indianapolis council members believe they've turned the corner? If the company reports a substantial first quarter loss in a few months, you will have your answer.
These Angie's List scams are the types of deals that occur when political chess pawns are selected by the likes of DB and TJ and Lord knows who else in the shadows. Chino Reeves was kept out of the Council the year and DB's tool Angel Rivera was "selected" in a "free and open forum"- if a free and open forum is defined as a manipulated meeting. It is my opinion DB's assistant helped torpedo Reeves even though the assistant later denied it.. whatever DB wanted DB got from her.
Rivera, of course, went on to enrich Osterle and Hicks and do whatever else DB told him to do or to vote the way DB wanted him to vote on the Council.
And the taxpayers paid. Just like the ROC under that lease DB wrote enriching his friend Alex Carroll.
The profit was "created" in order to help sell the Indianapolis taxpayer bail out. They cannot maintain that profit.
I've had need of remodeling information recently. Instead of going back to Angies List, I chose Consumer Reports. Angie's new business model of being in bed with those whose work she posts comments on may boost revenues for a quarter or two, but it will erode consumer confidence in her as a source of unbiased information.
Fourth quarter "profit" is BS. Their balance sheet reminds me of someone caught in a lie: tell one person one thing, then another person something different. Remember they been sued for misleading investors before. I bet the CFO is on suicide watch.
They want tax $ to "grow" but had to reduce sales expenses dramatically to produce the 4th qtr "profit" all the while significantly increasing their liabilities- not to mention they have not added any of the jobs they were supposed to for the handout yet in 2015.
The majority of revenue is coming from contractors but yet contractors "cannot pay to be on the list"...this is another class action suit in the works because multiple contractors who would not pay the ransom are lining up.
They were treading water as a penny stock under $5 and pull this out of thin air to stop the bleeding.
Traders will run it up and pull in some new smucks but this ponzi has been dead for a long time. "Shorts" rarely get their positions wrong. Short interest has increased this year while avg. daily volume has declined.
I would predict they will stay around until after Ballard and Pence no longer need this ponzi to claim "job creation" then implode Enron style.
Angie's List is very much a 'pay to play' company. If I want work done I ask people I know before I take a crappy lists advice.
Bringing 1000 jobs for 20 million? No flippin' way! It is yet another scam to be played on citizens of Indy.
Did you say - profit?! That sure came out of nowhere. If Angie's is trying to cook the books you can bet a few shareholders out there will push the SEC to investigate. Best of luck to the local elitists in greasing their way out of that.
Does the proposed city subsidy go to the entity building and leasing space to Angie's, or does the subsidy go directly to Angie's? Keep in mind Oesterle, Hicks and others own the facilities occupied by Angie's through a separate entity and they've already been busted for charging Angie's rates that are far above market rate. If the subsidy goes to Oesterle et al I'll bet the farm they don't pass along any of that millions in subsidies to Angie's!
I agree with Had Enough Indy's comment that "Angie's new business model of being in bed with those whose work she posts comments on may boost revenues for a quarter or two, but it will erode consumer confidence in her as a source of unbiased information." Recently, a business acquaintance with positive reviews on Angie's List turned down their repeated requests to spend $$$ to advertise, and two negative reviews magically appeared!!!
Maybe the FBI should investigate Angie's List.
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