21Vianet Slips To Loss On Expenses; Stock Down

(RTTNews) - Chinese IT services provider 21Vianet Group Inc (VNET) said Thursday it slipped to a loss for the first quarter, hurt by stock-based compensation expense and other costs, even as revenues surged.

The company reported first-quarter net loss to shareholders of RMB 151.8 million or $24.4 million, compared with net income of RMB 11.9 million in the prior year.

Loss per American Depositary Share, or ADS, for the quarter was RMB 2.28 or $0.37, compared with earnings per ADS of RMB 0.18 last year.

Results for the recent quarter included, among other items, stock-based compensation expense of RMB 138.7 million or $22.3 million, and RMB 37 million or $6 million of changes in the fair value of contingent purchase consideration payable and related deferred tax impact.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were RMB 33 million or $5.3 million, compared with RMB 31 million a year. Adjusted earnings per ADS were RMB 0.48 or $0.08, compared with RMB 0.48 a year ago.

On average, four analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.10 per ADS for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenues for the quarter climbed 34.5% to RMB 586 million or $94.3 million from RMB 435.7 million last year. Analysts projected revenues of $93.53 million.

Total expenses for the quarter climbed to RMB 281 million or $45 million from RMB 89 million a year ago.

Looking ahead to the second quarter, the company expects revenues of RMB 642 million to RMB 658 million, representing about 38 percent growth year over year at the midpoint.

For fiscal 2014, the company projects revenues of RMB.71 billion to RMB 2.85 billion, representing about 40% growth over 2013 at the midpoint.

Beijing, China-based 21Vianet Group provides carrier-neutral Internet data center services to Internet companies, government entities, blue-chip enterprises, and small- to mid-sized enterprises.

The company's stock closed Thursday at $26.92, up $1.03 or 3.98%, on a volume of 1.3 million shares on the Nasdaq. In after hours, the stock dropped $1.70 or 6.32% at $25.22.