There’s nothing like an IPO to provide insight into a company. Buy.com Inc., which filed for an IPO yesterday, reports in its SEC filing that sales in 2004 totaled $290.8 million, up 21.8% from 2003’s $238.2 million, but down 3.7% from 2002’s $301.7 million. 2004 sales were slightly more than a third of the $787.7 million in sales in 2000, Buy’s heyday.
The bottom line has been heading steadily in the right direction, however, although still not in the black. In 2004, the company had a net loss of $15.4 million, down from $25.6 million in 2003 and $22.7 million in 2002. The company lost $133 million in 2000.
Buy.com has managed top put a lid on fulfillment costs. Those expenses were $11 million in 2004, 3.8% of revenue, and the same in 2004, which equated to 4.6% of revenue. In 2002, fulfillment costs were 4.2% of revenue and in 2000, 5.2%.
Marketing costs have also come way down, sliding to $15.4 million in 2004, 5.3% of revenue, from $22.6 million in 2003, 9.5% of revenue. In 2000, marketing costs equaled 7.8% of revenue.
Buy also squeezed costs out of G&A;, which equaled 3.4% in 2004 and 5% in 2000.
Cost of goods sold also shrank as a percent of revenue to 90% in 2004 from 94% in 2000. Cost of goods sold in 2003 was 88% of revenue.
Buy.com has not set a date for sale of shares or a selling price. CEO and founder Scott A. Blum owns 126.28 million shares. President Neel Grover and CFO Robert Price own or have unexercised options on 6.69 million shares each. Roger Andelin, CIO, owns or has options on 912,887 shares, and chief counsel Greg Giraudi owns or has options on 892,826 shares.
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