Orbitz posts net loss but sees profit minus items

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The company, formerly a unit of Travelport, said its fourth-quarter net loss was $11 million, or 13 cents per share, compared with a loss of $5 million a year earlier before its new shares were issued.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Online travel company Orbitz Worldwide Inc <OWW.N> on Thursday posted a quarterly net loss but excluding one-time items the company posted a profit on stronger bookings.

The company, formerly a unit of Travelport, said its fourth-quarter net loss was $11 million, or 13 cents per share, compared with a loss of $5 million a year earlier before its new shares were issued.

The net loss was related to a higher interest rate on a credit line that was taken out when the company went public. Excluding that expense, Orbitz earned 12 cents per share in the quarter, topping expectations for a profit of 11 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

"We sustained strong international growth in the fourth quarter of 2007, with a 43 percent increase in international gross bookings and a 33 percent increase in international revenue as compared to the fourth quarter of 2006," Chief Executive Steve Barnhart said in a statement.

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The company reported a 10 percent increase in revenue to $197 million.

(Reporting by Kyle Peterson, editing by Mark Porter)