Summary
MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI) reported its first quarter results for the period ending March 31, 2009. The company demonstrated continued revenue growth, with a 12.1% increase year-over-year, reaching $32.3 million. This growth was driven by both its Marketplace and Payments segments, with the Payments business showing a faster growth rate of 18.8%. Net income saw a significant improvement, more than doubling to $5.4 million from $2.1 million in the prior year's quarter. This was aided by a reduction in income tax expense and notable foreign currency gains, particularly from its Venezuelan operations, although operational expenses also increased as a percentage of revenue due to investments and foreign currency re-measurements. Despite the positive top-line and bottom-line performance, investors should note the impact of the challenging macroeconomic environment in Latin America, including currency devaluations, which partially offset local currency revenue growth. The company also continued to invest in product development and sales and marketing, leading to an increase in operating expenses as a percentage of revenue. The company maintained a strong liquidity position with $46.4 million in cash and short-term investments at the end of the quarter.
Financial Highlights
7 data points| Revenue | $32.32M |
| Gross Profit | $25.69M |
| Net Income | $5.39M |
| EPS (Basic) | $0.12 |
| EPS (Diluted) | $0.12 |
| Shares Outstanding (Basic) | 44.07M |
| Shares Outstanding (Diluted) | 44.13M |
Key Highlights
- 1Total net revenues increased by 12.1% to $32.3 million for the first quarter of 2009 compared to $28.8 million in the same period of 2008.
- 2MercadoLibre Marketplace revenues grew 10.5% to $26.0 million, driven by a 15.8% increase in gross merchandise volume.
- 3MercadoPago revenues increased by 18.8% to $6.4 million, indicating strong growth in the payments segment.
- 4Net income more than doubled to $5.4 million ($0.12 per diluted share) from $2.1 million ($0.05 per diluted share) in the prior year's quarter.
- 5Operating expenses as a percentage of net revenues increased from 56.4% to 58.5%, primarily due to foreign currency re-measurements in Venezuela and continued investment in product development and sales & marketing.
- 6The company reported $46.4 million in cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments as of March 31, 2009, indicating a healthy liquidity position.
- 7The company experienced foreign currency gains of $1.9 million, primarily from its Venezuelan and Argentine operations, which significantly boosted net income.