Groupon still isn’t profitable, but nearly triples sales in Q4

Despite gaining 33 million new active customers in the fourth quarter, Groupon Inc. still isn’t profitable. The daily deal operator’s first earnings release as a public company showed a $42.7 million net loss in the fourth quarter as sales nearly tripled.

For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, Groupon reported:

• Total sales increased 194.1% to $506.5 million, compared with $172.2 million in 2010.
• North American sales of $188.5 million, a 113.2% jump from $88.4 million a year earlier.
• International sales of $318.0 million, a 279.0% increase from $83.9 million in 2010.
• A net loss of $42.7 million, compared with a loss of $378.6 million in 2010.
• Gross billings, which reflects the gross amount collected from Groupon customers for Groupon vouchers sold, excluding applicable taxes and refunds, were $1.25 billion, a 201.0% spike from $415.3 million in 2010.

For the full year, Groupon reported:

• Total sales increased 417.7% to $1.62 billion, compared with $312.9 million in 2010.
• North American sales of $643.8 million, a 221.3% increase from $200.4 million a year earlier.
• International sales of $980.9 million, a 771.9% increase from $112.5 million in 2010.
• A net loss of $350.8 million, compared with a loss of $456.3 million in 2010.
• Gross billings were $4.0 billion, a 436.7% jump from $745.3 million in 2010.

“We finished 2011 having helped 250,000 local merchants across 47 countries grow their businesses while saving Groupon customers billions of dollars," says Andrew Mason, CEO and co-founder of Groupon. "We will continue to invest in new services and tools that help our merchant partners be more successful and drive local commerce around the world."