Lastminute.com posts small quarterly profit

Former stock market star lastminute.com today revealed it has moved into the black for the first time after a jump in sales.

Former stock market star lastminute.com today revealed it has moved into the black for the first time after a jump in sales.

The group said it made pre-tax profits of £302,000 sterling for the three-month period to September 30th, although the figure excludes one-off costs.

During the quarter, the most important for the travel sector, the transaction value of items sold on its site was £112.4 million, up 84 per cent on the previous quarter and 140 per cent over the same period last time.

For the financial year as a whole, the group still posted a loss, although this was reduced to £38.1 million from £53.7 million the previous year.

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Lastminute, which sells travel and entertainment tickets through its website, pleased the market in September when it forecast it would move into profit during the fourth quarter.

The group was one of the darlings of the tech boom - famed for turning founders Ms Martha Lane Fox and Mr Brent Hoberman into paper millionaires overnight when it floated in March 2000.

But the firm became a symbol of the boom ending when shares slumped below their 380p issue price and carried on falling.

PA