LivePerson Adjusts 2003 Guidance � on the Plus Side
Looking for positive signs of life in the ASP market? LivePerson Inc. appears to be alive and well in an industry still looking for solid financial footing. The New York-based ASP that offers real-time sales, customer-support and marketing services today announced improved financial guidance for 2003.
Based on what LivePerson describes as strong preliminary fourth-quarter results, the company has increased its 2003 revenue guidance to $11 million — a 35-percent increase over 2002 revenue. LivePerson also expects EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) margins to improve to 15 percent for 2003.
“We are seeing growth from existing Service Edition customers and we have had a positive reaction to the initial release of our Sales Edition product. We have also had better than expected client retention and growth related to the NewChannel transaction that closed in July of this year,” LivePerson's CEO Robert LoCascio said. The Sales Edition of the service was made available in September.
LivePerson's Service Edition is designed to help customer support organizations respond in real time to online user inquiries via text-based chat. The Sales Edition is designed to increase conversion rates and revenue per sales representative by implementing preset behavioral rules and patterns to allow sales and marketing organizations to communicate with select high-value visitors and shoppers.
Despite the positve projections, the company's stock price remains below $1.00, opening today at 85 cents.
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