Online restaurant reservation company OpenTable is hoping to raise $40 million in an IPO, reports Techcrunch. It’s a wild time to file an IPO, but judging by the company’s financials revealed in the SEC filing, it’ll need it to continue international expansion.
2008 revenues were $41.3 million in the first 9 months of 2008, up 41 percent from a year earlier. And despite an operating profit of $261, 000, OpenTable still net a loss of $149, 000. The tight margins come from international expansion. The company has served North America since 1999 and rolled a $6.8 million operating income in the region in the first three quarters. But its international expansion costs resulted in a $6.5 million operating loss outside of North America.
The company does have $17. 4 million in cash, but I’d imagine OpenTable wants a bit of a buffer zone in a tough economy. So outside of private funding, it seems an IPO is the way to go.
via techcrunch
