Daily deals site Groupon experienced explosive growth in the first quarter of 2012, reporting an 89pc increase in revenue to US$559.3m and 36.9m active customers, a 140pc increase year-over-year.
Groupon’s revenue in the first quarter of 2011 totalled US$295.5m.
Gross billings, which reflects the gross amounts collected from customers for Groupons sold, excluding any applicable taxes and net of estimated refunds, rose 103pc to US$1.35bn in the first quarter 2012, compared with US$668.2m in the same period last year.
Operating income amounted to US$39.6m, which includes an expense of US$28m related to non-cash stock-based compensation. This compares with a loss from operations of US$117.1m from the year-ago period, which included stock-based expense of US$18.9m.
“We are pleased to report a record quarter that demonstrates our progress in unlocking the opportunity in local commerce for merchants and customers worldwide,” said Andrew Mason, CEO of Groupon.
Operating cash flow at the company increased 367pc to US$83.7m, compared with US$17.9m from the same period last year. Free cash flow, a non-GAAP financial measure, reached US$70.6m. At the end of the first quarter, Groupon had US$1.2bn in cash and cash equivalents and no long-term debt.
