ValueClick’s web sites take a hit in Q3

ValueClick Inc. reported $106.8 million in total revenue for the third quarter, up 1.5% from a year ago, when revenue was $105.2 million. Revenue for its owned and operated web sites, however, declined 13.5% year over year to $35.9 million.

ValueClick’s web site properties include comparison shopping engine site PriceRunner.com and coupon site CouponMountain.com. The company did not address the decline in web site revenue in its earnings statement. The company’s affiliate marketing segment, which includes Commission Junction fared better. Affiliate marketing revenue was up 13.3% from $26.3 million a year ago and contributed $29.8 million to total revenue during the third quarter.

For the third quarter, ValueClick also reported:

• Revenue from the company’s technology segment grew 19.7% during the quarter. The segment accounted for $7.9 million in revenue during Q3, up from $6.6 million a year ago.
• Revenue from the media segment grew 7.8% and contributed $33.3 million to revenue, up from $30.9 million a year ago.
• Q3 net income increased 44.8% to $36.2 million from $25.0 million a year ago.

“In the third quarter we accelerated year-over-year revenue growth, expanded margins and made significant progress in our initiatives to leverage our traffic, data and optimization capabilities for future growth,” says Jim Zarley, ValueClick’s chief executive officer.

For the nine months ending Sept. 30, ValueClick reported:

• Total revenue was $302.1 million, down 3.3% from a year ago, when revenue was $312.2 million.
• Affiliate marketing accounted for $87.9 million, or 28.1%, in total revenue. The segment is up 9.3% from a year ago, when affiliate marketing revenue was $80.4 million.
• Owned and operated web site revenue was down 18.7% to $95.8 million from $117.8 million a year ago.
• The technology segment contributed $23.4 million to revenue, up 15.8% from a year ago, when technology revenue was $20.2 million.
• The media segment accounted for $95.8 million, up 0.9% from a year ago, when media revenue was $94.9 million.
• Net income for the nine months ending Sept. 30 was up 30.7% to $69.4 million from $53.1 million a year ago.