Groupon shares shoot up by almost 20 per cent after company reveals it swung back into profit last year
Shares in e-commerce company Groupon shot up by almost 20 per cent in after hours trading after the firm revealed it swung back into profit in 2015.
The group reported a 3.8 per cent increase in revenue in the final quarter of 2015, up to $917m (£634m) from $883m, smashing through expectations of $845.9m.
Gross billings dropped by one per cent from $1.72bn to $1.71bn, and the company reported a quarterly loss of $46.5m.
However, for the year to 31 December, Groupon posted a profit of $20.7m, compared with a loss of $73.1m in 2014. And customer numbers also increased, by three per cent, to 48.9m from 47.4m at the end of 2014.
"2015 saw sustained progress toward our vision of making Groupon the daily habit in local commerce," said Groupon boss Rich Williams.
"Following a stronger than expected fourth quarter, we enter 2016 with a continued focus on streamlining our global operations, reducing our reliance on low margin products in our shopping business and rekindling our customer acquisition efforts to set the stage for accelerated growth."