Trulia 4Q loss narrows, traffic up sharply

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Real estate website operator Trulia's fourth-quarter loss narrowed as traffic and subscriptions improved significantly.

While its adjusted loss narrowly missed analysts' estimates, its revenue beat Wall Street's view. The company also provided a first-quarter revenue forecast above analysts' expectations.

Trulia Inc. operates the website Trulia.com and mobile apps. It allows people to research home listings and neighborhoods, while helping real estate agents market their listings.

The company, which went public in September, reported late Tuesday that it lost $1.6 million, or 6 cents per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31. That compares with a loss of $2.1 million, or 30 cents per share, a year earlier

Taking out stock-based compensation, Trulia lost 3 cents per share.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected a loss of 2 cents per share.

Revenue jumped 76 percent to $20.6 million from $11.7 million. This beat Wall Street's estimate of $19.1 million.

Total traffic surged 50 percent to 23.6 million unique visitors a month. Mobile did particularly well, with its monthly unique visitors more than doubling to 5.8 million.

Trulia said that it had 24,443 subscribers at quarter's end, up 45 percent from the year-ago period.

For the year, the San Francisco company lost $10.9 million, or 87 cents per share. In the prior year it lost $6.2 million, or 92 cents per share.

Trulia's adjusted loss was 67 cents per share.

Annual revenue soared 77 percent to $68.1 million from $38.5 million.

For the first quarter, the company anticipates revenue between $20.8 million and $21.2 million. Analysts predict revenue of $19.3 million.

Trulia's stock gained $2.91, or 12.2 percent, to $26.70 in after-hours trading Tuesday.