As I’m at the ECMTA conference in New Orleans and SingleFeed is in the midst of an awesome release, I don’t have time to dig into the numbers, and I won’t be able to listen to the conference call live.

Here’s the press release.

As for Scripps Interactive:

At the company’s Interactive Media division, which includes online comparison shopping services Shopzilla and uSwitch, first-quarter revenue grew 23 percent to $77.5 million. Segment profit for the Interactive Media division was $21.0 million compared with a slight loss during the same period a year earlier.

The Interactive Media division’s first-quarter growth is attributable to improvements at Shopzilla that have resulted in the business being able to cost effectively increase and monetize user traffic and increasing energy switching activity and significantly lower expenses at uSwitch in the United Kingdom.

During the prior-year period, Interactive Media segment profit was reduced by about $15 million due to a combination of factors including leadership transition costs at Shopzilla and increased marketing expenses at uSwitch.

It’s nice to see Shopzilla in a positive light again:

“We also saw strong growth at our Interactive Media segment, thanks primarily to Shopzilla’s improving ability to efficiently monetize its growing levels of user traffic.”

Segment Summary:

Interactive Media revenue was $77.5 million for the first quarter compared with $62.9 million in the first quarter 2007.

Segment profit was $21.0 million compared with a segment loss of $381,000 in the first quarter of 2007. During the prior-year period Interactive Media segment profit was reduced by about $15 million due to a combination of factors including leadership transition costs at Shopzilla and increased marketing expenses at uSwitch.

In Piper Jaffray’s April 18th 2008 Industry Note on Google’s Conference Call, Aaron Kessler and crew point to the following negative remarks from Google:

On its conference call, Google indicated that it is seeing signs of slowing in U.S. eCommerce. “I think in general we saw in Q1 a bit of slowdown in retail, some postponement of budgets.” Google’s comments confirm our recent eCommerce survey, ComScore spending data, as well as SEM data which suggests slowing eCommerce growth in the U.S.

The note also mentioned a recent SearchIgnite study, but I’m waiting to review the whitepaper myself before adding fuel to the fire.

Herman, thanks for passing along…

MeziMedia, Inc.’s Financial Statements for the six-month periods ended June 30, 2007 and June 30, 2006. Note that MeziMedia is made up of more than just Smarter.com and revenue/expenses are not broken out by operating division.

Highlights from the press release:

“Revenue at the company’s interactive media division, including Internet search businesses Shopzilla and uSwitch, rose during the first quarter of 2007, but segment profit for the division was down because of changing business conditions, strategic investments the company is making to improve the consumer experience and competitive position at both businesses, and costs related to a transition in leadership at Shopzilla. On a pro forma basis, as if the company had owned uSwitch since Jan. 1, 2006, Scripps Interactive Media revenue was down 8.7 percent during the quarter.”

“Interactive Media revenue was $62.9 million for the first quarter compared with $58.6 million in the first quarter 2006. On a pro forma basis, as if the company had owned uSwitch for the full year 2006, Scripps Interactive Media revenue was down 8.7 percent. The segment loss at Interactive Media was $400,000 compared with $13.9 million in segment profit in the first quarter 2006. Costs related to the leadership transition at Shopzilla reduced segment profit by about $5 million. The company also invested $10 million during the quarter to build brand awareness for uSwitch in the U.K.”

“Scripps Interactive Media, which includes Shopzilla and uSwitch, is expected to generate segment profit of about $5 million in the second quarter. The company’s outlook for the second quarter and balance of the year assumes no improvement in market conditions experienced by both businesses in the first quarter. For the full year, interactive media segment profit is expected to be between $30 million and $40 million.”

The bigger they are the harder they fall?
–Q4 2006 Earnings Call
–Q2 2006 Earnings
–Q1 2006 Earnings
–A look at 2005

WSJ Article - “Shopzilla’s revenue more than doubled over year ago-levels, to $35.2 million, and its segment profit jumped to $7.3 million from $1.2 million a year earlier.”

MarketWatch - “Revenue [for Scripps] rose 19% to $595 million, bolstered by continued growth Scripps’ cable networks and Shopzilla, the online comparison shopping service it acquired in June. Excluding Shopzilla, revenue rose 15%.”

AP - “Shopzilla’s revenue more than doubled year-over-year and profit increased about six-fold, Scripps’ CEO Kenneth Lowe said. The number of unique visitors to Shopzilla also was up sharply during the quarter. The deal to purchase Shopzilla in June initially raised concern among some investors worried over intense competition in online comparison shopping. But Lowe said at the time that the 126-year-old company has prospered by embracing each new era in media technology.”

Official EW Scripps Release - “At Shopzilla, we’re seeing plenty of evidence that a rapidly growing number of online shoppers are discovering the utility of this very powerful, online product search and price comparison service.”