Booking Holdings takes $900 million hit to quarterly revenue linked to FTC action

Nov 3 : Priceline parent Booking Holdings said on Tuesday it recorded a $900 million reduction in revenue and accrued a loss of $100 million related to an FTC action involving its subsidiary's connection to deceptive hotel ads.

As a result, the online travel agency's third-quarter revenue declined 1 per cent year-over-year. Shares of the company were down 2.4 per cent in extended trading.  

Booking disclosed in August that the FTC was considering suing Priceline and an affiliate over disclosures, fees, customer support and billing practices. The company previously said it was in talks with the FTC to resolve the matter.    The FTC had been looking into Priceline's relationship with Guest Reservations, a third-party website that advertises stays at specific hotels. Priceline supplies hotel room inventory to Guest Reservations through Priceline Partner Solutions, according to an ongoing lawsuit against the companies ‌filed by San Francisco.

The Norwalk, Connecticut-based company posted a profit per share of $4.66 for the third quarter, compared with $3.98 per share in the year-ago period.

Total revenue for the quarter ended September 30 came in at $8.89 billion, compared to about $9 billion a year earlier.