Limelight loss widens in Q4, still beats analysts

Much as it did a year ago, Limelight Networks (Nasdaq: LLNW) showed a rebound in the fourth quarter, Friday reporting a loss of $6.6 million, or 6 cents a share. Analysts had expected the content delivery network to lose 7 cents a share. The losses were slightly worse than a year ago when Limelight reported it lost $6.3 million, or 4 cents per share, in the like quarter.

The losses were mitigated, said the company, by increasing revenue from its value-added services revenue, which contributed 29 percent to the company's total sales of $46 million. Total revenues were up 7 percent from a year ago.

Limelight forecast first quarter revenue in line with analyst expectations: the company sees revenue coming in at $43 to $45 million; analysts on average expect $43.6 million.

The company, had a tough go at times in 2011. In August, shares hit a three-year low at $1.95, although the stock has since more that doubled and closed yesterday at $4 a share. Chairman and chief executive Jeff Lunsford attributed some of the rebound to new products the CDN offers. For the past two years, Limelight has slowly been transforming itself from a pure content delivery network to more of a hybrid that includes SaaS offerings to help content owners manage their assets--a change that has been well received by customers, he said.

Limelight's main competitors, Akamai (Nasdaq: AKAM) and Level 3 (NYSE: LVLT), already have reported results. (see Growing demand for online video boosts Akamai Q4 results and Level 3 Communications' losses narrow, revenue up in Q4.)

For more:
- see this Reuters article
- see this release

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