UPDATE 1-Website creator Wix.com's profit doubles, sees Studio product boosting 2024
(Adds forecasts, quotes)
By Steven Scheer
JERUSALEM, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Wix.com, which helps small businesses build and operate websites, beat fourth-quarter profit expectations on Wednesday and forecast double-digit revenue growth in 2024.
Its earnings per diluted share excluding one-time items doubled to $1.22 from 61 cents a year earlier and beat the 95 cents expected by analysts, LSEG data showed.
The Israeli company was boosted by its new Studio product to create more advanced websites.
Revenue for the October-December quarter grew 14% to $404 million versus the $402 million expected by analysts.
Company officials said the war with Palestinian militants that began on Oct. 7 was having no impact on its business or customers.
In 2023 its number of registered users rose 8% to 263 million - 60% of them in North America - while it added 189,000 net premium subscriptions to reach 6.3 million.
Its full-year revenue rose 13% to $1.56 billion, much of it from partners and generated through agencies and freelancers that build sites and applications for other users as well as other partnerships.
For 2024, Wix said it expected revenue to rise by 11-13% to $1.73-$1.76 billion and bookings to rise more significantly in the second half and a further acceleration in 2025.
In the first quarter, Wix expects revenue of $415-$419 million, up as much as 12%.
"Studio is going to have much more impact on the top line in the second half of 2024 much more impact in 2025," CFO Lior Shemesh told a news conference, adding it also foresees a similar growth path for its new artificial intelligence (AI) product.
"We expect Studio to be a significant growth driver for us."
Wix this month completed a programme where it bought back $300 million of its own shares and said it is seeking approvals for an addition $225 million in buybacks.
Its Nasdaq-listed shares have gained 1.9% in 2024 after a 60% jump in 2023.
(Reporting by Steven Scheer; editing by Jason Neely)
