Shutterfly 4Q profit rises 68 percent as an increase in orders boost revenue

Shutterfly 4Q profit rises 68 pct on revenue boost

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — An increase in orders for its photo products led Shutterfly Inc. on Thursday to report a 68 percent increase in net income for the fourth quarter.

The company, which lets consumers store their photos through its Web site and sells photo albums and related products, earned $24.1 million, or 88 cents per share, in the quarter.

That compares with a profit of $14.4 million, or 56 cents per share, in the 2008 quarter.

Revenue rose by 22 percent to $131.1 million from $107.7 million.

Shutterfly’s performance in the quarter handily beat the expectations of analysts, who on average were expecting earnings of 70 cents per share and revenue of $113.8 million.

The company said orders increased by 12 percent in the quarter to a total of 3.1 million. The average order was $42.40, up 8 percent from the prior year.

For the year, Shutterfly said it earned $5.8 million, or 22 cents per share, up from $3.7 million, or 14 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue rose by 15 percent to $246.4 million.

Looking ahead, the company expects to post net revenue of $40 million to $42 million in the first quarter and a loss of 12 cents to 15 cents per share, excluding one-time items. Including all items, the loss would range from 23 cents per share to 27 cents per share.

That’s better than the 16-cent per share loss expected by analysts on revenue of $39.5 million.

For 2010, Shutterfly is projecting net revenue of $267 million to $277 million, higher than the $252.2 million analysts had forecast. The company said earnings should come in at 18 cents per share to 33 cents per share. Excluding one-time items, profit should range from 61 cents per share to 74 cents per share. Analysts are expecting 15 cents per share in profit.

Shuttefly, based in Redwood City, Calif., fell 29 cents to $16.02 on Thursday.