Travelzoo (TZOO) Reports First Quarter 2011 Results

Travelzoo Inc., a global Internet media company, today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011, with revenue of $37.0 million, an increase of 30% year-over-year. Adjusted operating profit was $10.0 million. Adjusted net income was $6.0 million, with adjusted diluted net income per share (EPS) of $0.37, up from $0.15 in the prior-year period. Adjusted operating profit, adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 exclude a one-time expense item of $20.0 million related to the settlement of the State of Delaware unclaimed property review.

“We kicked off 2011 with record revenues and record adjusted operating income. Subscribers grew by over 1 million, the second best performance in our company’s history,” said Chris Loughlin, CEO of Travelzoo. “We doubled adjusted operating income year-over-year as we continued to ramp up Local Deals, which are now live in 48 markets in 6 countries. North America revenues grew at the fastest pace in over 4 years. Europe saw the highest quarterly subscriber growth ever and returned its first significant quarterly profit. We also reached a settlement agreement for a previously disclosed State of Delaware escheatment claim, incurring a one-time cash expense.”

North America

North America business segment revenue grew 23% year-over-year to $27.6 million. Adjusted operating profit was $9.3 million, or 34% of revenue, up from $6.1 million, or 27% of revenue, in the prior-year period.

Europe

Europe business segment revenue grew 53% year-over-year to $9.4 million. In local currency terms, revenue grew 49% year-over-year. Adjusted operating profit was $741,000, compared to an operating loss of $951,000 in the prior-year period.

Subscribers

Travelzoo had a total unduplicated number of newsletter subscribers in North America and Europe of 19.9 million as of March 31, 2011, up 12% from March 31, 2010, and up 6% from December 31, 2010. In North America, total unduplicated number of subscribers was 14.8 million as of March 31, 2011, up 7% from March 31, 2010 and up 4% from December 31, 2010. In Europe, total unduplicated number of subscribers was 5.1 million as of March 31, 2011, up 29% from March 31, 2010 and up 11% from December 31, 2010.

Asset Management

During the first quarter, Travelzoo generated $10.7 million of cash from operating activities. Accounts receivable increased by $3.1 million quarter-over-quarter and increased by $3.0 million over the prior-year period to $16.4 million. Accounts payable increased by $3.7 million quarter-over-quarter and increased by $6.8 million over the prior-year period to $13.6 million. Capital expenditures were $699,000, up from $138,000 in the prior quarter and up from $396,000 in the prior-year period. Travelzoo exited the first quarter with $51.7 million in cash and cash equivalents.

State of Delaware Unclaimed Property Settlement

On April 21, 2011, Travelzoo entered into an agreement with the State of Delaware resolving all claims relating to a previously-announced unclaimed property review. The primary issue raised in the preliminary findings from the review, received by Travelzoo on April 12, 2011, concerned the shares of Travelzoo which have not been claimed by former shareholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation following a 2002 merger, as previously disclosed in the company’s report on Form 10-K. In the preliminary findings under the unclaimed property review, up to 3.0 million shares were identified as “demandable” under Delaware escheat laws. While Travelzoo continues to take the position that such shares are issuable only to persons who establish their eligibility as shareholders, the company determined that it was in its best interest to promptly resolve all claims relating to the unclaimed property review. Travelzoo will make a one-time $20.0 million cash payment to the State of Delaware and is receiving a complete release of those claims. Travelzoo will provide the amount from cash on hand.

Non-GAAP Measures

To give an enhanced view of the company’s operating performance, management has calculated, for this quarter, adjusted operating income, adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share by excluding the one-time expense related to the State of Delaware unclaimed property settlement. The company believes these metrics assist investors to assess certain business trends in the same way that these trends are analyzed by management. The discussion of adjusted operating income, adjusted net income, and adjusted diluted net income per diluted share are not in accordance with GAAP and may differ from non-GAAP methods of accounting and reporting used by other companies. Non-GAAP numbers are merely a supplement to, and not a replacement for, GAAP financial measures. As the only difference between GAAP and non-GAAP measures is the one-time expense related to the State of Delaware settlement, today’s reporting should not be viewed as the company’s intention to report non-GAAP measures in future periods. Refer to the “Reconciliation of GAAP EPS to non-GAAP EPS” section of this release for a discussion of these non-GAAP measures and their reconciliation to the reported GAAP measures.

Conference Call

Travelzoo will host a conference call to discuss first quarter results at 11:00 a.m. ET today. Please visit http://www.travelzoo.com/earnings to

• download the management presentation (PDF format) to be discussed in the conference call;
• access the webcast.

About Travelzoo

Travelzoo Inc. is a global Internet media company. With more than 22 million subscribers in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific and 23 offices worldwide, Travelzoo® publishes deals from more than 2,000 travel and entertainment companies. Travelzoo’s deal experts review offers to find the best deals and confirm their true value. In Asia Pacific, Travelzoo is independently owned and operated by Travelzoo (Asia) Ltd. and Travelzoo Japan K.K. under a license agreement with Travelzoo Inc.

Certain statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans, objectives, expectations, prospects and intentions, markets in which we participate and other statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts. When used in this press release, the words “expect,” “predict,” “project,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “seek” and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including changes in our plans, objectives, expectations, prospects and intentions, and other factors discussed in our filings with the SEC. We cannot guarantee any future levels of activity, performance or achievements. Travelzoo undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release. Travelzoo and Top 20 are registered trademarks of Travelzoo Inc. All other company and product names mentioned are trademarks of their respective owners.