In its first quarterly result since the departure of CEO and founder Andrew Mason group buying site Groupon beat revenue expectations and matched analyst profit calls with earnings per share of 3 cents and revenues just a tick over $600 million.
The strongest aspect of the result was the company's consolidated segment operating income which at $51.2 million blitzed expectations of a result below $30 million.
Shares rose 15 per cent on the results heading north of $6 but still a long way shy of its IPO price of $20 and an age behind its day one pop of $30.
Strong US sales drove the results however the worrying underlying trend was international sales which actually fell 18 per cent.
One of the more interesting elements of the quarter was the amount of commerce derived from mobility . According to Eric Lefkofsky, Chairman and co-CEO of Groupon. “We had record mobile performance as 45% of our North American transactions came from mobile in March, and more than 7 million people downloaded our apps in the quarter."
The company has not yet replaced founder and CEO Andrew Mason, who it fired the day after the previous quarter's results following years of problems with missed earning, over stated earnings and criticism of the company's performance.
As with all of Groupon's results it is best to suspend disbelief until the analysts have had a few days to pick through the entrails. The company's approach to accounting and revenue recognition has caused it plenty of dramas in the past.
One key issue will be to determine how much of the revenue was derived from its core business which has been under pressure lately as the company gradually repositions itself as more of an SME platform play.
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