E*Trade Group Inc, the Menlo Park, California-based online brokerage, has reported a third-quarter net loss of $24.2m on revenue up 128% at $151.7m, compared to net income of $5.1m, or $0.03 per share, in the year-ago period. Results for the quarter reflected increased expenditures on infrastructure and customer acquisitions, as well as one-time items including $3.7m in merger-related charges and a gain of $4.3m on the sale of an investment. Net of the extraordinary items, the loss for the quarter amounted to $0.09 per share, when analysts surveyed by First Call were expecting a loss of $0.12.
The company added 332,000 net active accounts during the quarter to bring the total to 1.24 million. Total transactions rose 19% sequentially and 177% year-over-year to 5.1 million, with the daily average now at 80,600. Total assets in customer accounts, meanwhile, rose 22% sequentially and 130% year-over-year to $26bn. Average daily page view rose to 6.8 million from 5.6 million in the prior quarter and 1.5 million a year ago. For the nine-month period, net loss was $32.1m on revenue up 108% at $366.8m, against net income of $14.3m, or $0.08 per share.
