Expedia's blows past expectations in 4Q

BELLEVUE, Wash. (AP) -- Expedia Inc.'s shares soared in extended trading Thursday after the travel website operator reported that its fourth-quarter results came in far ahead of market expectations.

The company, which runs its namesake site as well as Hotels.com and Hotwire, said that its profit and revenue jumped on increased hotel bookings and revenue from a new venture.

Expedia's gross bookings increased 21 percent and the number of hotel nights stayed by guests increased 25 percent. It also got a boost from increased advertising and media revenue, largely from its acquisition of a controlling stake in German hotel search site Trivago in March.

The company recently struck a strategic marketing agreement with Travelocity but said that did not meaningfully impact its results for the quarter.

Expedia said that its net income jumped to $94.7 million, or 70 cents per share, from $6.7 million, or 5 cents per share, in the prior year. On an adjusted basis, its earnings from continuing operations increased to 92 cents per share from 63 cents per share.

The company's total revenue for the quarter increased 18 percent to $1.15 billion.

Analysts polled by FactSet were anticipating earnings of 85 cents per share on revenue of $1.14 billion.

For the full year, Expedia earned $232.9 million, or $1.67 per share, on revenue of $4.77 billion.

Shares of the Bellevue, Wash.-based company increased $8.26, or nearly 13 percent, to $73.40 in after-hours trading following the announcement.