E*Trade Group Inc, the of online investment services company, posted a substantial increase in revenues for the fourth quarter, but the Palo Alto-based company said it will continue to make losses over the next few quarters in a rapid spending spree to broaden its subscriber base. Fourth quarter net losses were $15.7m against profits last time of $5.9m on revenues up 32.1% at $68.7m. Excluding acquisition related charges, the losses were in line with expectations. E*Trade claimed an additional 85,000 new subscribers in the quarter, bringing the claimed total to 544,000 at the year end, double last year’s number. Transactions performed via the company’s web site also rose by 27% to 1.95 million.
