TripAdvisor revenue falls as referral revenue drops

(Reuters) - TripAdvisor Inc's (TRIP.O) quarterly revenue fell 3 percent, missing analyst estimates, as a rise in hotel bookings on its websites hurt revenue from referrals to third-party sites.TripAdvisor has been allowing users in the United States and the UK to reserve hotels directly on its websites since 2014, charging hotels a fee for the bookings. The feature was rolled out globally in the first quarter.

The company, whose profit also fell more than expected, said on Wednesday that referral revenue dropped 13.3 percent to $189 million in the quarter.

TripAdvisor said total costs and expenses rose 13.6 percent to $310 million in the quarter. (http://bit.ly/1SZdIhM)

TripAdvisor-branded display-based advertising and subscription revenue, which includes display ad and subscription-based revenue, rose 11 percent in the period.

The company's net income fell 57 percent to $27 million, or 18 cents per share, in the first quarter from $63 million, or 43 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, TripAdvisor earned 32 cents per share, far short of the average analysts' estimate of 46 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue fell to $352 million from $363 million, missing the average estimate of $370.5 million.

TripAdvisor's shares were down 5 percent at $60 in after-hours trading. Up to Wednesday's close, the stock had fallen nearly 23 pct this year.

The company's results follow those of larger travel website operator Expedia Inc (EXPE.O), which posted a surprise first-quarter profit last week, helped by acquisitions of Orbitz Worldwide Inc, Travelocity and HomeAway Inc.

(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey and Ted Kerr)