Expedia's 3Q Profit Up 23 Pct As Bookings Rise

BELLEVUE, Wash. (AP) — Bookings are up at online travel company Expedia Inc., pushing its profit up despite prices for flights and hotels holding or softening.

The company said Thursday that the rise in bookings, which helped its third-quarter profit rise 23 percent, points to better days ahead for the rest of the travel industry, still hurting as consumers and businesses limit their spending during the recession.

The company said it earned $117 million, or 40 cents a share, in the three-month period that ended Sept. 30. That's up from $94.8 million, or 33 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items, the company earned 48 cents a share in the period.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected 43 cents a share. Analysts typically exclude one-time items from their estimates.

Shares rose some 4 percent when trading opened, but fell back slightly. Shares lost 4 cents to close at $24.30 Thursday.

Revenue rose 2 percent to $852.4 million, above analyst estimates of $828.9 million.