Yelp Revenue Rises 40 Percent, CFO To Step Down

Consumer review website operator Yelp reported a better-than-expected rise in quarterly revenue, driven by strength in its advertising business, and said its Chief Financial Officer Rob Krolik would step down.

Yelp’s results were released ahead of schedule due to a vendor error caused by PR Newswire, according to a company spokeswoman.

The company’s shares were down 10.2 percent at $16.26 in volatile trading.

Local advertising accounts on Yelp rose 32 percent to about 111,000 in the fourth quarter that was in line with estimates from market research firm FactSet StreetAccount.

The San Francisco-based company has been trying to expand outside the United States and diversify into services such as restaurant bookings, event management and payments to counter increasing competition.

Krolik, who joined the company in 2011, will continue in his current role until Dec. 15 or until a replacement is hired, whichever is earlier, the company said in a statement.

Yelp said it expected to report net revenue of $154 million-$157 million in the first quarter, largely above the $154.4 million estimated by the analysts.

The company reported a net loss of $22.2 million, or 29 cents per share, attributable to common stockholders for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of $32.7 million, or 42 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose to $153.7 million from $109.9 million. Analysts on average had expected a loss of 3 cents per share and revenue of $152.4 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.