Infoseek, Xoom.com go out with a bang

A pair of Internet companies closed out their lives as independent entities Thursday with better-than-expected results in their fiscal third quarters. Xoom.com and Infoseek enjoyed exceptional revenue growth in the quarter.

Infoseek Corp. (Nasdaq: SEEK), which will soon merge with Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) and the Go Network, posted a third-quarter loss of $21.5 million, or 34 cents a share, on sales of $41.3 million.

First Call consensus expected it to lose 42 cents a share in the quarter.

The $41.3 million in sales marks a 115 percent gain from the year-ago quarter when it lost $2.6 million, or 8 cents a share, on sales of $19.2 million.

In the quarter, average daily page views jumped to 55 million, up from 49 million in June.

Infoseek shares closed up 13/16 to 28 7/8 ahead of the earnings report.

Xoom.com Inc. (Nasdaq: XMCM) posted a smaller-than-expected loss in its third quarter Thursday, losing $3 million, or 15 cents a share, on sales of $9 million.

First Call consensus expected it to lose 38 cents a share in the quarter.

Including the effects of acquisition-related amortization of intangibles and purchased in-process research and development charges, Xoom.com lost $8.6 million or 44 cents a share.

Xoom.com shares closed up 5/16 to 61 1/2 ahead of the earnings report.

The $9 million in sales represents a 289 percent jump compared to the year-ago quarter when it lost $2.2 million, or 22 cents a share, on sales of $2.3 million.

This marks the end of Xoom.com's run as an independent company.

"During the third quarter we had several key accomplishments that we think will have a significant impact on NBC Internet following our proposed merger," said CEO Chris Kitze in a prepared release. "We are now focused on closing the merger to form NBC Internet so that we can begin operating as a new company."

In the quarter, Xoom.com grew its membership base to 10.3 million users, up from 3.6 million in the year-ago quarter.

Its shares peaked at 98 1/2 in April after falling to a low of 21 1/8 in December.

All four analysts following the stock maintain either a "buy" or "strong buy" recommendation.>