Etsy’s share price surges after reporting strong revenue growth despite an earnings loss
Quirky online marketplace Etsy reported revenue just over expectations, as it announced the number of its active buyers and sellers has surged.
Etsy's share price jumped over 17 per cent in after-hours trading on the news, but had closed seven per cent lower ahead of the results.
Revenue for the fourth quarter was reported at $87.9m (£62.7m), a 35.4 per cent year-on-year rise, and just above analysts' expectations of $86.46m. That was fuelled mostly by a 53.9 per cent increase in Seller Services revenue.
Read more: Etsy share price falls as Amazon Handmade launches
However, the company reported a net loss per share of four cents, worse than expectations of a net loss of one cent per share, according to Bloomberg.
A 53.8 per cent year-on-year increase in marketing spend to $22.5m weighed on the earnings per share.
Gross merchandise sales rose 21.3 to $741m per cent compared to the fourth quarter of 2014.
The fourth quarter was reported to have been an important one for Etsy, as it needed to showcase its ability to bring new people into the marketplace during the critical Christmas period.
It seems to have managed that, with active buyers having surged 21.4 per cent to 24.05m, and active sellers increasing by 15.5 per cent to 1.56m.
A lot will now depend on its ability to compete with the giants, such as Amazon, which recently launched Amazon Handmade, in continuing to attract new buyers and sellers. The company said it expects 20-25 per cent revenue growth in the next three years.
Read more: Etsy doubles in value on stock market debut
"We hit many important milestones that are the building blocks for long-term, sustainable growth," said chief executive and chairman Chad Dickerson. "We executed against our strategic priorities, particularly in mobile, where we began to narrow the gap between mobile visits and mobile GMS."
"In 2016, we remain committed to reimagining commerce and are focused on launching more products and services that will allow us to build long-term value for our community," he added.
The company is also putting an emphasis on mobile as it builds its brand in 2016, with 61 per cent of overall visits made on a mobile device. Some 44 per cent of gross merchandise sales coming from mobile in the fourth quarter of 2015.
The online market place for handcrafted goods soared on its stock debut in April last year, but had fallen close to 75 per cent from the IPO.