MercadoLibre 1Q Profit Doubles, Sales Disappoint

NEW YORK (AP) — MercadoLibre Inc. reported Wednesday that its first-quarter profit more than doubled, beating Wall Street's forecasts, on larger revenue from its Internet auction site and payment system. Sales fell shy of estimates, though, and the stock declined in after-hours trading.

The company said after the market closed that its profit jumped to $5.4 million, or 12 cents per share, which was 2 cents per share higher than the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. A year ago, profit totaled $2.1 million, or 5 cents per share.

Sales climbed 12 percent to $32.3 million in the three months ended March 31, which was short of analysts' expectations of $33 million, but still propelled by strength in the company's biggest segments: the marketplace division's sales rose nearly 11 percent to $26 million, while payments revenue grew 19 percent to $6.4 million. MercadoLibre noted that both segments were hurt by weakened local currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar. ...