LivePerson shares fall after 1Q disappoints

NEW YORK (AP) -- LivePerson Inc.'s shares fell 12 percent in extended trading Wednesday after the customer service provider reported a first-quarter loss and issued a weak forecast for the current quarter.

The company, based in New York, has a cloud-based platform that allows businesses to connect with their customers through websites, social media and mobile devices.

LivePerson posted a loss of $200,000, or break even on a per-share basis, for the period that ended March 31. That is compared to net income of $3.1 million, or 6 cents per share, in its first quarter last year. After adjusting for stock-based compensation and other special items, it earned 6 cents per share for the most recent quarter, versus 9 cents per share last year.

The company's total revenue increased 16 percent to $42.5 million.

Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting the company to earn an adjusted 7 cents per share on revenue of $42.5 million.

LivePerson added 43 new enterprise and midmarket customers during the quarter, and signed a total of 123 deals which consisted of both new and existing customers.

The company said it expects to earn between 3 and 5 cents per share for its second quarter on an adjusted basis on revenue between $42.5 million and $43.5 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of 7 cents per share on revenue of $44.4 million.

LivePerson also forecast earnings of 18 to 21 cents per share on an adjusted basis for the full year with revenue between $174 million and $179 million. Analysts had forecast earnings of 32 cents per share on revenue of $183.8 million.

The company's stock fell $1.50 to $11.25 in after-hours trading. Its shares fell 2 cents to close regular trading at $12.75.