Groupon Lost More Than $100 Million Last Quarter – Again – As Hiring Costs Jump

Daily deals juggernaut Groupon managed to significantly slash marketing costs last quarter, but its net loss in the second quarter of this year has almost tripled compared to last year as it hired more than 1,000 new employees, according to an SEC filing published this morning. Basically, the company is still growing like gangbusters but losing money like crazy in the process.

The updated financial details show that Groupon increased revenue from $3.3 million in Q2 2009 to $878 million in the second quarter of 2011, while net income swung from $21,000 for the second quarter of 2009 to a staggering net loss of $102.7 million for the second quarter of 2011.

The reported net loss is in line with the first quarter of 2011 but nearly triple the $36 million loss from Q2 2010. Groupon hired more than 1,000 employees in the 3-month period – growing its sales force to more than 4,800 people – which caused a serious bump in ‘general and administrative expenses’.

In total, Groupon grew from 37 employees as of June 2009 to 9,625 employees as of June 2011.

Groupon serves 175 North American markets and 45 countries as of June 30, 2011. The company accounted for 115.7 million subscribers at the end of the second quarter of 2011 and says over 23 million customers have purchased Groupons through the end of Q2 2011.

Marketing costs dropped to a little over to $170 million in Q2 2011, whereas Groupon spent $208 million on marketing during the first quarter of 2011.

Interestingly, the company removed its controversial revenue calculation of gross revenues. As expected, the company stopped referring to a measurement called Adjusted Consolidated Segment Operating Income (ACSOI), a metric that excludes marketing costs as well as stock-based compensation and acquisition-related items.

We’re still going over the rest of the amended filing – there may be more updates.

Two months ago, Groupon filed an S-1 to IPO, looking to raise at least $750 million.

Story to be continued, obviously.

Also read:

Groupon Releases New S-1, Adds 11 Underwriters Including JP Morgan And Allen & Co.

Why Groupon Is Poised For Collapse

Groupon Responds To IPO Backlash With A Cheeky Feline