Orbitz misses 3Q expectations and shares drop in trading

Orbitz Worldwide Inc. shares sank Thursday after the online travel company reported a disappointing third quarter.

The company said that it earned $9 million, or 8 cents per share, for its third quarter. That's down from $13 million, or 11 cents per share, last year. The quarter was weighed down by increased provision for taxes and the profit missed market forecasts. Analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research were anticipating earnings of 14 cents per share.

Orbitz posted revenue of $253.1 million in the period, up 15 percent from the prior year thanks to increased gross bookings. But the revenue also fell short; analysts had expected $253.8 million, according to Zacks.

The company said it expects its revenue growth for the year to be up 9 to 10 percent, down slightly from its prior forecast. And for 2015 it forecast revenue gains in the mid-single digits.

Orbitz, based in Chicago, runs its namesake site, cheaptickets.com and other travel sites.

The company's shares fell 6.7 percent to $7.91 by early afternoon trading. It stock price has increased 18 percent since the beginning of the year.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap ) using data from Zacks Investment Research. OWW stock research report from Zacks: http://www.zacks.com/ap/OWW .

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Keywords:Orbitz,Earnings Report