Expedia boosts profit, but CEO notes Google's looming presence |
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Expedia boosted its profit beyond analysts' expectations during the second quarter, despite hits associated with the Iceland volcanic eruption which disrupted travel in much of Europe in April. The Bellevue company posted revenue of $834 million -- an eight percent gain -- during the second quarter. Analysts expected revenue of $845 million.
The online travel landscape is changing rapidly, especially with Google purchasing ITA Software for $700 million earlier this month. Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi addressed the Google threat in a call with analysts today, noting that the search giant could create an "unfair playing field" if it started to favor its search results over those of third party travel companies.
"It is difficult to speculate," he said. "I think everyone knows that Google wields considerable market power, whether it is in the travel business or other industries ... so their actions can have very significant consequences in any industry, including ours."
Khosrowshahi called Google a great partner, and suggested that the management team leading Google's travel business was operating in good faith. However, he said given the market power now obtained via ITA it is "something that we will watch." And he hinted that if Google started influencing travel search results in its favor, government regulations could be in order.
Net income increased to $114.3 million, or 40 cents per share, at Expedia during the quarter. That compared to net income of $40.9 million, or 14 cents per share, for the same period last year, according to Reuters. Expedia also said that it grew its gross bookings by 19 percent for the quarter and finished the period with $684 million in cash and cash equivalents.
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