Priceline.com
Incorporated today reported its financial results for
the 4th quarter and full-year 2004.
  For the 4th quarter, gross travel bookings, which refers to the total dollar value, inclusive of taxes
and fees, of all travel products purchased by consumers, rose 61%
year-over-year to $414 million. Revenues were $195 million, an 8.2%
increase over a year ago. Fourth quarter 2004 results include the
operating results of Active Hotels, acquired in September 2004, and
Travelweb, acquired in May 2004.

Priceline.com’s GAAP gross profit for the 4th quarter 2004 was
$49.9 million, up 57% from the prior year while GAAP net income for
the 4th quarter was $5.0 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, up 100%
from the prior year. Pro forma gross profit for the 4th quarter 2004
was $51.5 million, up 62% over the same period a year ago. Pro forma
net income for the 4th quarter 2004 was $8.8 million, or $0.22 per
diluted share, which exceeds First Call analyst estimates of $0.16 per
diluted share and represents an increase of 267% over the prior year.
The section below entitled “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” provides a
definition and information about the use of pro forma financial
measures used in this press release and the attached financial and
statistical supplement reconciles historical pro forma financial
information with priceline.com’s financial results under GAAP.

For full-year 2004, priceline.com reported gross travel bookings
of $1.68 billion, a 52% increase over full-year 2003. Full-year 2004
revenues were $914.4 million versus $863.7 million a year ago.
Priceline.com’s GAAP gross profit for 2004 was $198.2 million.
Full-year 2004 GAAP net income was $30.0 million, or $0.76 per diluted
share. Pro forma gross profit for full-year 2004 was $201.1 million, a
38% increase over 2003. Pro forma net income for 2004 was $38.4
million, or $0.96 per diluted share, an increase of 100% over 2003.

Airline ticket unit bookings, which include retail and opaque
(Name Your Own Price(R)) tickets, grew 61% compared to the same period
a year ago. Hotel room night unit bookings, which include retail and
opaque rooms, grew 51% versus the prior year. Rental car day unit
bookings, which include retail and opaque rentals, grew 16%
year-over-year.

“We believe that priceline.com’s strong growth in gross travel
bookings for the 4th quarter, fueled by the success of our new air
product and results from Travelweb and Active Hotels, solidified our
position as a growth leader among the major full service online travel
companies. We are particularly proud of the fact that we have
reestablished strong growth in our top line over the last two years
while also consistently delivering market-leading increases in bottom
line profits.” said priceline.com President and Chief Executive
Officer Jeffery H. Boyd. “Our retail airline ticketing option was very
popular with customers during the busy holiday travel season. Now that
customers are accustomed to this option for their airline tickets, we
believe that they will respond favorably as priceline.com offers more
retail options for hotel rooms, rental cars and vacation packages.
Priceline.com’s opaque travel options, particularly for hotel rooms
and rental cars, continue to offer exclusive savings and a distinctive
choice for consumers. By effectively using retail and opaque products
in a complementary manner, we believe that priceline.com is becoming a
preferred one-stop-shop for the leisure traveler. We also offer
suppliers a number of attractive distribution channels that meet their
needs in a variety of market environments.”
Looking forward into 2005, Mr. Boyd said, “We intend to build on
the success of our airline tickets service by building priceline.com’s
retail and opaque options into a complementary one-stop travel
service. In the 2nd quarter of 2005, priceline.com intends to rollout
the choice of retail hotel reservations along with a new advertising
campaign emphasizing the choices available for all of our products. We
believe that this transformation is making priceline.com a compelling
choice for leisure travelers. In Europe, Active Hotels will continue
building inventory and distribution across Europe while integrating
Priceline’s U.S. inventory and customer base into its product offering
and distribution reach. Active Hotels also intends to relaunch the
priceline.co.uk web site in the coming months to offer seamless access
to Active Hotel’s hotel inventory.”
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