Website builder Wix.com sees strong sales in 2023 after Q4 profit

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Wix.com, which helps small businesses build and manage websites, said on Wednesday it swung to a profit in the fourth quarter and forecast revenue growth of 9-11% in 2023.

The Israeli company said it earned 61 cents per share excluding one-time items, compared with a loss of 34 cents per share a year ago. Revenue grew 6% to $355 million and 9% to $1.4 million in 2022.

Wix was forecast to earn 9 cents a share ex-items on $352 million in revenue, according to data from Refinitiv.

“While Internet growth is currently returning to pre-pandemic trendlines, we believe there are still many years of significant expansion ahead,” said CEO Avishai Abrahami.

Wix said it is implementing more cost-saving measures and expects total savings of $200 million in 2023 and $215 million in annual savings.

“Our focus in 2023 will continue to be on driving cost efficiencies across the business,” it said.

For the first quarter, Wix estimated revenue of $367-$371 million, reflecting annual growth of approximately 7-9%, “assuming no deterioration in the macro environment.” It expects revenue of $1.51-$1.535 billion for 2023.

Analysts are projecting first-quarter revenue of $366 million and full-year revenue of $1.511 billion.

(Reporting by Ari Robinovitch; Editing by Steven Scheer)