WebMD Corp, which makes medical practice management software, said its third-quarter loss widened after the company wrote down the value of acquisitions by US$3.83 billion and revenue was below some analysts' estimates.
The company had a loss of US$4.62 billion, or US$12.86 a share, compared with a loss of US$786.9 million, or US$3.17, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 10 percent to US$167 million from US$151.2 million.
WebMD, which spent more than US$5 billion in less than two years to buy companies and form partnerships, has had US$6.4 billion in acquisition-related losses this year alone, much of it for writing off goodwill, or the amount of the purchase price that exceeded the acquisitions' market value.
"This is pretty much the bulk of it," Chief Executive Officer Martin Wygod said in an interview.
The write-off of goodwill is a welcome development, said John Maack, director of equities at Crabbe Huson Group. "That's cleaning up the balance sheet," he said. "Those assets wouldn't have ever reached their full potential."
Revenue was less than the US$173.7 million average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call. The company, which also runs the most popular consumer Web site on health, said after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that third-quarter revenue would be reduced by travel and shipping delays, scheduling conflicts and telecommunications problems. WebMD also canceled a technology agreement with Microsoft Corp.
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