MELI

BigSully1 · December 03, 2007, 07:32:35 PM

Mercadolibre, Inc.
Tronador 4890
8th Floor Federal Capital
Buenos Aires, 1430
Argentina - Map
Phone: 54 11 5352 8000
Fax: 54 11 4545 4744
Web Site: http://www.mercadolibre.com

DETAILS
Index Membership: N/A
Sector: Services
Industry: Business Services
Full Time Employees: 778

BUSINESS SUMMARY
Mercadolibre, Inc. hosts the online trading platform in Latin America that focuses on enabling e-commerce and its related services. It offers the MercadoLibre marketplace, an automated online trading service, which permits businesses and individuals to list items and conduct their sales and purchases online in either a fixed-price or auction-based format. The registered users, through online classified advertisements, can also list and purchase motor vehicles, vessels, aircraft, real estate, and services. The company also provides MercadoPago, an integrated online payments solution to facilitate transactions on the MercadoLibre marketplace by providing a mechanism that allows users to send and receive payments online. Mercadolibre, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MercadoLibre, Inc. Reports Financial Results for Third Quarter and First Nine Months 2007
Tuesday November 13, 4:49 pm ET

* Third Quarter Revenue Increases 72.4% to $22.8 Million

* Third Quarter Operating Income Increases by 422.4% to $6.0 Million

* Third Quarter Net Income, Excluding Non-Cash Charge of $1.0 Million
Related to the Increase in Fair Value of Warrants Increased to $3.7
Million

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Nov. 13, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- MercadoLibre, Inc. (Nasdaq:MELI) (http://www.mercadolibre.com), host of the largest online trading and payments platform in Latin America, today reported financial results for its third fiscal quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2007.

``We continue to achieve solid growth in all of our key metrics through unwavering focus on our stated strategy of providing our users with a superior and highly-innovative e-commerce experience,'' commented Marcos Galperin, President and Chief Executive Officer of MercadoLibre, Inc. ``We are particularly pleased that this focus has led to accelerated top line growth rates in both our marketplace and payments business segments. Another important factor in our growth is the continued expansion of e-commerce in Latin America as evidenced by significant increases in the number of Internet users and broadband connections.''

Financial Results

Third Quarter Results

MercadoLibre reported consolidated net revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2007 of $22.8 million, representing a quarterly year over year growth rate of 72.4%. Revenue growth was driven by improvements in the monetization of transactions on the Company's platforms, as well as by continued growth in confirmed registered users, gross merchandise volume, successful items, and total payment volume. Third quarter marketplace revenues grew 60.6% to $18.1 million from $11.3 million for the prior year period. Payments revenues grew to $4.7 million for the third quarter, up 141.8% from $1.9 million for the same period during 2006. MercadoLibre's take rate, as measured by revenues as a percentage of gross merchandise volume, improved to 5.8% during the third quarter of 2007, as compared to 4.7% in the third quarter of 2006.

Gross profit grew 75.1% to $17.6 million from $10.1 million in the third quarter 2006, representing a gross profit margin of 77.2%.

Income from operations grew 422.4% to $6.0 million, representing a 26.3% operating margin, as the business continues to show significant economies of scale.

Net income for the three-month period was $2.8 million, compared to $38 thousand during the same period of 2006. Net income for the nine-month period includes $1.0 million in non-cash expenses related to an increase in the fair value of warrants outstanding during the quarter. These warrants have been exercised in full, rendering this expense a non-recurrent charge going forward.

First Nine Months Results

Revenue for the first nine months ended September 30, 2007 increased 59.1% to $58.2 million compared with $36.6 million for the first nine-months ended September 30, 2006. Gross profit increased 61.2% to $45.4 million from $28.2 million from the prior year period. Income from operations increased 304.6% to $13.6 million from $3.4 million for the year-ago period.

Net income for the nine-month period was $4.4 million, compared to $0.8 million during the same period of 2006. Net income for the nine-month period includes $3.0 million in non-cash expenses related to an increase in the fair value of warrants outstanding during the nine-month period.

Key Performance Metrics

The following are highlights on certain key performance metrics for the third quarter ended September 30, 2007.

Registered Users -- New confirmed registered users for the three month period ended September 30, 2007 were 1.7 million, 6.4% higher than the number of new confirmed registered users for the third quarter of 2006. Total confirmed registered users increased to 23.3 million as of September 30, 2007, an increase of 40.6% over the 16.5 million users registered as of September 30, 2006.

Transaction volume -- Gross merchandise volume was $394.9 million for the third quarter of 2007, a 39.2% growth from gross merchandise volume of $283.7 for the same period during 2006. MercadoLibre totaled 4.6 million successful items during the third quarter of 2007, 22.7% more than the 3.7 million successful items sold during the same quarter of 2006. Total payment volume was $43.6 million during the three-month period ending September 30, 2007, a growth of 89.0% over total payment volume of $23.1 million for the same period of 2006.

Conference Call and Webcast

MercadoLibre will host a conference call to discuss results for the quarter and nine-months ending September 30, 2007 today at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The conference call may be accessed by dialing (913) 312-1491. A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed at the company's investor relations website at http://investor.mercadolibre.com/. An archive will be available for one week following the conclusion of the conference call.

Definition of Selected Operational Metrics

New confirmed registered users -- Measure of the number of new users who have registered on the MercadoLibre marketplace and confirmed their registration.

Total confirmed registered users -- Measure of the cumulative number of users who have registered on the MercadoLibre marketplace and confirmed their registration.

Gross merchandise volume -- Measure of the total U.S. dollar sum of all transactions completed through the MercadoLibre marketplace, excluding motor vehicles, vessels, aircraft, real estate, and services.

Successful items - Measure of the number of items that were sold/purchased through the MercadoLibre marketplace.

Total payment volume -- Measure of total U.S. dollar sum of all transactions paid for using MercadoPago.

Take rate -- Total net revenues as a percentage of gross merchandise volume.

About MercadoLibre

MercadoLibre is the largest online trading platform in Latin America. We are market leaders in e-commerce in each of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, based on unique visitors and page views during 2006. Additionally, we have recently launched online trading platforms in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Panama. With a market of over 550 million people and a region with one of the world's fastest-growing Internet penetration rates, we provide buyers and sellers a robust online trading environment that fosters the development of a large and growing e-commerce community. We offer a technological and commercial solution that addresses the distinctive cultural and geographic challenges of operating an online trading platform in Latin America.

Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about the company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements and should be evaluated as such. Such forward-looking statements reflect, among other things, the company's current expectations, plans, projections and strategies, anticipated financial results, future events and financial trends affecting the company's business, all of which are subject to known or unknown risk and uncertainties that may cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including general market conditions, the failure of customary closing conditions, adverse changes in the company's markets and other risks disclosed in the prospectus. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions, investors should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.

Nine Months Ended Three Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
------------------------- -------------------------
2007 2006 2007 2006
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
(Unaudited)

Net revenues $ 58,232,755 $ 36,596,493 $ 22,800,130 $ 13,224,610
Cost of net
revenues (12,840,016) (8,432,483) (5,192,650) (3,166,559)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Gross profit 45,392,739 28,164,010 17,607,480 10,058,051

Operating
expenses:
Product and
technology
development (3,157,033) (2,251,767) (1,154,317) (782,097)
Sales and
marketing (19,629,001) (16,647,142) (6,982,476) (6,057,976)
General and
administrative (8,970,232) (5,894,455) (3,483,918) (2,071,974)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Total
operating
expenses (31,756,266) (24,793,364) (11,620,711) (8,912,047)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Income from
operations 13,636,473 3,370,646 5,986,769 1,146,004
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------

Other income
(expenses):
Interest income 872,207 177,819 352,968 82,530
Interest expense
and other
financial
charges (1,217,569) (1,277,329) (390,029) (469,535)
Foreign currency
loss (1,806,520) (118,481) (802,348) (54,793)
Other expenses,
net (3,006,416) (1,342,048) (960,358) (237,682)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net income
before income /
asset tax
expense 8,478,175 810,607 4,187,002 466,524
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------

Income / asset
tax expense (4,107,628) (1,583,610) (1,401,528) (428,983)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net income
(loss) $ 4,370,547 $ (773,003)$ 2,785,474 $ 37,541
============ ============ ============ ============

Accretion of
preferred stock (309,299) (371,158) (61,860) (123,719)
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net income /
(loss) available
to common
shareholders $ 4,061,248 $ (1,144,161)$ 2,723,614 $ (86,178)
============ ============ ============ ============

Nine Months Ended Three Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
------------------------ ------------------------
2007 2006 2007 2006
----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Basic EPS
Basic net
income / (loss)
available to
common
shareholders
per common
share $ 0.10 $ (0.09) $ 0.07 $ (0.01)
=========== =========== =========== ===========
Weighted average
shares 18,214,978 13,132,216 27,538,652 13,141,676
=========== =========== =========== ===========

Diluted EPS

Diluted net
income per
common share $ 0.10 $ 0.07
=========== ===========
Weighted average
shares 18,608,181 27,685,028
=========== ===========

September 30, December 31,
2007 2006
------------- -------------
Assets (Unaudited) (Audited)
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 14,535,980 $ 7,143,027
Short-term investments 48,373,617 6,320,656
Accounts receivable 2,499,780 1,983,003
Funds receivable from customers 17,216,572 10,188,712
Prepaid expenses 590,898 333,570
Deferred tax assets 2,185,423 2,904,558
Other current assets 678,950 246,352
------------- -------------
Total current assets 86,081,220 29,119,878
Non-current assets:
Long-term investments 1,459,271 --
Property and equipment, net 4,171,087 2,931,470
Goodwill and intangible assets, net 23,018,001 21,342,315
Deferred tax assets 561,085 390,820
Other assets 167,877 28,089
------------- -------------
Total non-current assets 29,377,321 24,692,694

Total assets $ 115,458,541 $ 53,812,572
------------- -------------

Liabilities and Shareholders'
Equity (Deficit)
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued
expenses $ 7,818,585 $ 5,708,682
Funds payable to customers 12,498,257 9,085,013
Social security payable 3,622,343 2,722,874
Taxes payable 2,001,754 1,735,975
Loans payable 3,050,580 97,527
Provisions 36,100 310,848
------------------------------
Total current liabilities 29,027,619 19,660,919
Non-current liabilities:
Loans payable -- 9,000,000
Other liabilities 948,406 1,803,315
------------- -------------
Total non-current liabilities 948,406 10,803,315
Total liabilities 29,976,025 30,464,234
------------- -------------

Commitments and contingencies

Mandatorily redeemable convertible
preferred stock, $0.01 par value,
45,600,000 shares authorized,
27,187,838 shares issued and
outstanding at December 31, 2006;
liquidation amount: $78,334,161
at December 31, 2006 -- 64,076,545
------------- -------------
Shareholders' equity (deficit):
Common stock, $0.001 and $0.01 par
value, 108,800,000 shares
authorized,44,226,563 and
13,166,982 shares issued and
outstanding at September 30, 2007
and December 31, 2006 44,227 131,670
Additional paid-in capital 121,881,108 2,694,404
Accumulated deficit (39,686,310) (44,054,817)
Accumulated other comprehensive
income 3,243,491 500,536
------------- -------------
Total shareholders' equity
(deficit) 85,482,516 (40,728,207)
------------- -------------

Total liabilities, mandatorily
redeemable convertible preferred
stock and shareholders' equity
(deficit) $ 115,458,541 $ 53,812,572
------------- -------------

Cash Flow
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
--------------------------
2007 2006
------------ ------------
(Unaudited)

Cash flows from operations:

Net income (loss) $ 4,370,547 $ (773,003)
Adjustments to reconcile net income
(loss) to net cash provided by
operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 1,667,918 1,481,106
Interest expense -- 637,000
Realized gains on investments (362,891) --
Unrealized gains on investments (244,676) (17,749)
Stock-based compensation expense - stock
options 20,434 23,367
Stock-based compensation expense -
restricted shares 1,977 --
Change in fair value of warrants 3,045,992 1,143,678
Deferred income taxes 511,589 56,082
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable (516,777) 240,834
Funds receivable from customers (7,027,860) (3,132,463)
Prepaid expenses (257,328) (263,290)
Other assets (572,386) (625,929)
Accounts payable 3,275,151 3,232,579
Funds payable to customers 3,413,244 2,219,247
Provisions (274,748) (707,953)
Other liabilities 638,721 147,217
------------ ------------
Net cash provided by operating
activities 7,688,907 3,660,723
------------ ------------
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchase of investments (49,916,141) (2,875,665)
Proceeds from sale of investments 6,892,718 --
Purchase of intangible assets (47,461) (258,790)
Purchases of property and equipment (2,061,477) (1,423,942)
------------ ------------
Net cash used in investing activities (45,132,361) (4,558,397)
------------ ------------
Cash flows from financing activities:
Increase in short term debt 3,049,886 1,911
Loans paid (9,000,000) --
Stock options exercised 38,579 6,398
Exercise of Warrants 749,991 --
Issuance of common stock 49,573,239 --
------------ ------------
Net cash provided by financing
activities 44,411,695 8,309
------------ ------------
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash
and cash equivalents 424,712 140,908
------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash
equivalents 7,392,953 (748,457)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of
year 7,143,027 8,979,838
------------ ------------

Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 14,535,980 $ 8,231,381
------------ ------------
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
--------------------------
2007 2006
------------ ------------
(Unaudited)
Supplemental cash flow information:
Cash paid for interest $ 495,833 $ --
Cash paid for income taxes $ 3,463,724 $ 1,336,001

Non-cash financing activities:
Accretion of preferred stock $ 309,299 $ 371,158
Conversion of mandatorily redeemable
convertible preferred stock into common
stock $ 64,385,844 $ --
Reclassifications of warrants $ 4,636,456 $ --
------------ ------------

Three Months Ended September 30, 2007
-----------------------------------------------------------
Marketplaces
-----------------------------------------------------------
Other
Brazil Argentina Mexico Countries Total
----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

Net
revenues $ 9,735,433 $ 3,117,546 $ 2,480,155 $ 2,809,492 $18,142,626
Direct
costs (6,275,225) (1,488,304) (1,699,950) (1,438,725)(10,902,204)
----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Direct
contri-
bution 3,460,208 1,629,242 780,205 1,370,767 7,240,422

Payments Consolidated
----------- -----------

Net revenues $ 4,657,504 $22,800,130
Direct costs (3,196,955) (14,099,159)
----------- -----------
Direct contribution 1,460,549 8,700,971

Operating expenses and indirect costs of
net revenues (2,714,202)
-----------
Income from operations 5,986,769
-----------

Other income (expenses):
Interest income 352,968
Interest expense and other financial results (390,029)
Foreign exchange (802,348)
Other expenses, net (960,358)
-----------
Net income before income / asset tax expense $ 4,187,002
===========

Three Months Ended September 30, 2006
-----------------------------------------------------------
Marketplaces
-----------------------------------------------------------
Other
Brazil Argentina Mexico Countries Total
----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Net
revenues $ 6,254,917 $ 1,966,340 $ 1,577,906 $ 1,499,079 $11,298,242
Direct
costs (4,684,170) (1,249,097) (1,339,453) (1,188,705) (8,461,425)
----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Direct
contri-
bution 1,570,747 717,243 238,453 310,374 2,836,817

Payments Consolidated
----------- -----------

Net revenues $ 1,926,368 $13,224,610
Direct costs (1,731,912) (10,193,337)
----------- -----------
Direct contribution 194,456 3,031,273

Operating expenses and indirect costs of
net revenues (1,885,269)
-----------
Income from operations 1,146,004
-----------

Other income (expenses):
Interest income 82,530
Interest expense and other financial results (469,535)
Foreign exchange (54,793)
Other expenses, net (237,682)
-----------
Net income before income / asset tax expense $ 466,524
===========

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2007
-----------------------------------------------------
Marketplaces
-----------------------------------------------------
Other
Brazil Argentina Mexico Countries
----------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Net revenues $26,306,517 $7,859,816 $6,917,780 $7,339,954
Direct costs (17,108,926) (3,987,398) (4,498,440) (4,341,008)
----------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Direct
contribution 9,197,591 3,872,418 2,419,340 2,998,946

Total Payments Consolidated
------------ ----------- -------------
Net revenues $ 48,424,067 $ 9,808,688 $ 58,232,755
Direct costs (29,935,772) (7,502,044) (37,437,816)
------------ ----------- -------------
Direct
contribution 18,488,295 2,306,644 20,794,939
Operating
expenses and
indirect costs
of net revenues (7,158,466)
-------------
Income from
operations 13,636,473
-------------
Other income
(expenses):
Interest income 872,207
Interest expense
and other
financial
results (1,217,569)
Foreign exchange (1,806,520)
Other expenses,
net (3,006,416)
-------------
Net income
before
income/asset
tax expense $8,478,175
=============

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2006
-----------------------------------------------------
Marketplaces
-----------------------------------------------------
Other
Brazil Argentina Mexico Countries
----------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Net revenues $18,571,053 $4,888,526 $4,336,164 $3,876,396
Direct costs (13,197,634) (3,336,969) (3,666,491) (3,133,676)
----------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Direct
contribution 5,373,419 1,551,557 669,673 742,720

Total Payments Consolidated
------------ ----------- -------------

Net revenues $ 31,672,139 $ 4,924,354 $ 36,596,493
Direct costs (23,334,770) (4,528,070) (27,862,840)
------------ ----------- -------------
Direct
contribution 8,337,369 396,284 8,733,653

Operating
expenses and
indirect costs
of net revenues (5,363,007)
-------------
Income from
operations 3,370,646
-------------
Other income
(expenses):
Interest income 177,819
Interest
expense and
other financial
results (1,277,329)
Foreign exchange (118,481)
Other
expenses, net (1,342,048)
-------------
Net income before
income/asset
tax expense $ 810,607
============

Contact:
MercadoLibre, Inc.
Investor Relations contact:
Pedro Arnt
+54 (11) 5352 8000
Media Relations contact:
Lorena Diaz Quijano
+54 (11) 5352 8026
[email protected]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=MELI&p=D&b=5&g=0&id=p92519849171

BigSully1 · December 10, 2007, 11:21:27 AM

Trying to breakout.

bjc · December 12, 2007, 09:02:08 PM

This stock is too pricey for my blood, I don't understand why some of these internet stocks trade at such rich valuations.

But it has the feel of a stock that will just rock and roll. I can picture MELI in triple digits. Have you looked into it any more Sully? I'm obsessed with TKC by the way. Unless Q3 was an anomaly we have a long way higher to go, IMO.

BigSully1 · December 13, 2007, 08:35:29 PM

Quote from: bjc on December 12, 2007, 09:02:08 PM
This stock is too pricey for my blood, I don't understand why some of these internet stocks trade at such rich valuations.

But it has the feel of a stock that will just rock and roll. I can picture MELI in triple digits. Have you looked into it any more Sully? I'm obsessed with TKC by the way. Unless Q3 was an anomaly we have a long way higher to go, IMO.

Most of the picks I have posted about, I've studied and already own, There are only a few I only commenting on. I wouldn't advise anyone to put a large percentage of their portfolio into this one or some others like VOCS, but I do endorse everyone having a small percentage in it and plan on leaving it ride (hopefully for many years)

Too pricey? I don't really think so. Probably Motley Fool said it best today;

"Sure, MercadoLibre isn't exactly cheap. It's fetching 216 times this year's profit target and 87 times next year's bottom-line projection. However, the disparity between the two numbers tells you all you need to know about the company's torrid growth. With earnings poised to soar by 147% next year, 87 times forward profitability isn't an outlandish sum for a company that's just starting to grow in its core Argentinean and Brazilian markets, even as it expands into neighboring countries."

What I really didn't want to see was Cramer endorsing it. Up another 9% in after-market.

bjc · December 14, 2007, 03:53:46 PM

At least you have MELI in the green Sully!

Whoa!

BigSully1 · December 14, 2007, 03:57:02 PM

Yeah, but you see what Cramer did to it. It becomes too tempting to take profits, and I'm not a good trader.

BigSully1 · December 26, 2007, 11:53:08 AM

Moving again.

kslifka · December 27, 2007, 01:46:27 PM

Very nice call BigSully.

Looking strong today on a down market.

I bought some on the market weakness this morning for a day trade.

BigSully1 · March 06, 2008, 10:41:03 AM

MercadoLibre, Inc. Reports Financial Results for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2007
Wednesday March 5, 4:01 pm ET

-- Fourth quarter revenue increases 73.9 percent to $26.9 million
-- Fourth quarter operating income margin increases to 27.1 percent
on Income from Operations of $7.3 million
-- Fourth quarter net income increases 188.5 percent to $5.3 million

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, March 5, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- MercadoLibre, Inc. (NasdaqGM:MELI - News) (http://www.mercadolibre.com), host of the largest online trading and payments platform in Latin America, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2007.

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Marcos Galperin, President and Chief Executive Officer of MercadoLibre, Inc. commented, ``2007 was a year of significant achievements and milestones for MercadoLibre, the highlight of which was our successful transition to a publicly-traded company listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market in the United States. Throughout the year, we further strengthened our leadership position in e-commerce delivering strong operational and financial performance. Our robust performance continued into the fourth quarter as we delivered revenue growth of 73.9% and operating income margins of 27.1%. Growth rates were strong across all of our business units as well as all of our key geographies. Clearly, we are continuing to benefit from the positive growth trends influencing internet, broadband and PC penetration rates in Latin America, and we believe this course will persist for many years to come.''

Financial Results

Fourth Quarter Results

MercadoLibre reported consolidated net revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2007 of $26.9 million, representing a quarterly year over year growth rate of 73.9%. Revenue growth was driven by strong results in both the marketplace and payments businesses. Marketplace revenues grew 61.5% to $21.1 million while Payments revenues grew 141.1% to $5.8 million.

Gross profit grew 75.6% over fourth quarter 2006 to $20.7 million, representing gross profit margins, defined as gross profits as a percentage of revenues, of 77.1%. Income from operations grew 260.0% for the same period to $7.3 million. Operating income margin, defined as income from operations as a percentage of revenues, for the fourth quarter was 27.1%.

Net income for the three-month period was $5.3 million, an increase of 188.5% over the $1.8 million of net income for same period of 2006.

Full Year Results

Revenue for the full year ended December 31, 2007 increased 63.5% to $85.1 million compared with $52.1 million for the full year ended December 31, 2006. Marketplace revenues for the full year 2007 grew 55.4% to $69.5 million over 2006 while Payments revenues grew 112.9% to $15.6 million.

Gross profit increased 65.4% to $66.1 million from $40.0 million from the prior year, representing a gross profit margin of 77.7% for 2007. Income from operations increased 287.8% to $20.9 million from $5.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2006. Operating income margin for the full year was up to 24.6% from 10.4% for the previous year.

Net income for the full year ended December 31, 2007 was $9.7 million, compared to $1.1 million during 2006, an increase of 804.1%.

Mr. Galperin concluded, ``As we look forward to 2008, we expect to build on the momentum generated over the past year. Our progress in adapting to web 2.0, as well as our other efforts in enhancing our users' overall experience, positions us well for the long-term. Additionally, we intend to leverage our leadership position and the industry dynamics in Latin America to further drive top-line growth and sustain margins throughout the year. Our focus will remain on providing our users with a superior and highly-innovative e-commerce experience, while delivering value to our shareholders.''

Key Performance Metrics

The following are highlights on certain key performance metrics for the quarter ended December 31, 2007.

Registered Users -- New confirmed registered users for the three-month period ended December 31, 2007 were 1.6 million. Total confirmed registered users increased to 24.9 million as of December 31, 2007, an increase of 37.1% over the 18.2 million users registered as of December 31, 2006.

Transaction volume -- Gross merchandise volume was $461.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2007, a 40.2% increase from gross merchandise volume of $328.8 million for the same period during 2006. Successful items sold through MercadoLibre totaled 4.8 million during the fourth quarter of 2007, up 17.9% from the 4.1 million successful items sold during the same quarter of 2006. Total payment volume was $56.8 million during the three-month period ending December 31, 2007, a growth of 86.8% over total payment volume of $30.4 million for the same period of 2006.

Conference Call and Webcast

MercadoLibre will host a conference call to discuss results for the quarter and year ending December 31, 2007 on Wednesday, March 5, 2008 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The conference call may be accessed by dialing (719) 325-4891. A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed at the company's investor relations website at http://investor.mercadolibre.com/. An archive will be available for one week following the conclusion of the conference call.

Definition of Selected Operational Metrics

New confirmed registered users -- Measure of the number of new users who have registered on the MercadoLibre marketplace and confirmed their registration.

Total confirmed registered users -- Measure of the cumulative number of users who have registered on the MercadoLibre marketplace and confirmed their registration.

Gross merchandise volume -- Measure of the total U.S. dollar sum of all transactions completed through the MercadoLibre marketplace, excluding motor vehicles, vessels, aircraft, real estate, and services.

Successful items -- Measure of the number of items sold/purchased through the MercadoLibre marketplace.

Total payment volume -- Measure of total U.S. dollar sum of all transactions paid for using MercadoPago.

Take rate -- Total net revenues as a percentage of gross merchandise volume.

About MercadoLibre

MercadoLibre is the largest online trading platform in Latin America. We are market leaders in e-commerce in each of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, based on unique visitors and page views during 2006. Additionally, we have recently launched online trading platforms in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Panama. With a market of over 550 million people and a region with one of the world's fastest-growing Internet penetration rates, we provide buyers and sellers a robust online trading environment that fosters the development of a large and growing e-commerce community. We offer a technological and commercial solution that addresses the distinctive cultural and geographic challenges of operating an online trading platform in Latin America.

The MercadoLibre, Inc. logo is available athttp://http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4193

Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about the company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements and should be evaluated as such. Such forward-looking statements reflect, among other things, the company's current expectations, plans, projections and strategies, anticipated financial results, future events and financial trends affecting the company's business, all of which are subject to known or unknown risk and uncertainties that may cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including general market conditions, adverse changes in the company's markets and other risks disclosed in the company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions, investors should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.

MELI_F

Financial Tables

All dollar amounts in this release are approximate after giving effect to rounding.

December 31, December 31,
2007 2006
------------- -------------
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 15,677,407 $ 7,143,027
Short-term investments 52,300,007 6,320,656
Accounts receivable 3,211,252 1,983,003
Funds receivable from customers 29,162,763 10,188,712
Prepaid expenses 283,477 333,570
Deferred tax assets 3,445,101 2,904,558
Other assets 894,163 246,352
------------- -------------
Total current assets 104,974,170 29,119,878
Non-current assets:
Long-term investments 1,323,789 --
Property and equipment, net 4,143,204 2,931,470
Goodwill and intangible assets, net 23,428,646 21,342,315
Deferred tax assets 269,596 390,820
Other assets 353,395 28,089
------------- -------------
Total non-current assets 29,518,630 24,692,694

Total assets $134,492,800 $ 53,812,572
============= =============

Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity (Deficit)
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued expenses $ 9,278,138 $ 5,708,682
Funds payable to customers 16,418,177 9,085,013
Social security payable 3,778,236 2,722,874
Taxes payable 2,493,749 1,735,975
Loans payable 9,713,227 97,527
Deferred tax liabilities -- --
Other liabilities -- --
Provisions 69,979 310,848
------------- -------------
Total current liabilities 41,751,506 19,660,919
Non-current liabilities:
Loans payable -- 9,000,000
Deferred tax liabilities -- --
Other liabilities 1,068,155 1,803,315
------------- -------------
Total non-current liabilities 1,068,155 10,803,315

Total liabilities 42,819,661 30,464,234
------------- -------------

Commitments and contingencies

Mandatorily redeemable convertible
preferred stock, $0.001 par value,
40,000,000 shares authorized at
December 31, 2007 and $0.01, par value
45,600,000 shares authorized,
27,187,838 shares issued and
outstanding at December 31, 2006;
liquidation amount: $78,334,161 at
December 31, 2006. -- 64,076,545
------------- -------------
Shareholders' equity (deficit):
Common stock, $0.001 par value,
110,000,000 shares authorized,
44,226,563 shares issued and
outstanding at December 31, 2007 and
$0.01 par value, 108,800,000 shares
authorized, 13,166,982 shares issued
and outstanding at December 31, 2006 44,227 131,670
Additional paid-in capital 121,890,138 2,694,404
Preferred stock warrants -- --
Unearned stock-based compensation -- --
Accumulated deficit (34,363,917) (44,054,817)
Accumulated other comprehensive income 4,102,691 500,536
------------- -------------
Total shareholders' equity (deficit) 91,673,139 (40,728,207)
------------- -------------

Total liabilities, mandatorily
redeemable convertible preferred
stock and shareholders'
equity (deficit) $134,492,800 $ 53,812,572
============= =============

Year Ended Three Months Ended
December 31, December 31,
------------- ------------- ------------- -------------
2007 2006 2007 2006
------------- ------------- ------------- -------------
Net revenues $ 85,126,341 $ 52,058,890 $ 26,893,585 $ 15,462,398
Cost of net
revenues (19,001,060) (12,085,648) (6,161,044) (3,653,165)
------------- ------------- ------------- -------------
Gross profit 66,125,281 39,973,242 20,732,542 11,809,232

Operating
expenses:
Product and
technology
development (4,369,376) (3,066,304) (1,212,344) (814,537)
Sales and
marketing (27,598,683) (23,358,510) (7,969,681) (6,711,368)
General and
admini-
strative (13,223,522) (8,150,499) (4,253,290) (2,256,045)
------------- ------------- ------------- -------------
Total
operating
expenses (45,191,581) (34,575,313) (13,435,315) (9,781,949)
------------- ------------- ------------- -------------
Income from
operations 20,933,700 5,397,929 7,297,227 2,027,283
------------- ------------- ------------- -------------

Other income
(expenses):
Interest
income 1,609,403 520,508 737,196 342,690
Interest
expense
and other
financial
charges (2,009,781) (1,743,315) (792,212) (465,986)
Foreign
currency
loss (3,106,515) (391,981) (1,299,995) (273,501)
Other
expenses,
net (3,006,416) (1,468,220) -- (126,173)
------------- ------------- ------------- -------------
Net income
before
income /
asset tax
expense and
cumulative
effect of
change in
accounting
principle 14,420,391 2,314,921 5,942,216 1,504,314
------------- ------------- ------------- -------------

Income / asset
tax (expense)
benefit (4,727,451) (1,242,838) (619,824) 340,773
------------- ------------- ------------- -------------
Net income $ 9,692,940 $ 1,072,083 $ 5,322,392 $ 1,845,086
============= ============= ============= =============

Accretion of
preferred
stock (309,299) (494,878) -- (123,720)
------------- ------------- ------------- -------------
Net income
available to
common
shareholders $ 9,383,641 $ 577,205 $ 5,322,392 $ 1,721,366
------------- ------------- ------------- -------------

Year Ended December 31,
---------------------------
2007 2006
------------- -------------
Basic EPS

Basic net
income
available
to common
shareholder
before
cumulative
effect of
change in
accounting
principle
per common
share $ 0.22 $ 0.01

Cumulative
effect of
change in
accounting
principle -- --
------------- -------------
Basic net
income
available
to common
shareholder
per common
share $ 0.22 $ 0.01
============= =============

Weighted
average
shares 25,149,405 13,149,139
============= =============

Diluted EPS

Diluted net
income
available
to common
shareholder
before
cumulative
effect of
change in
accounting
principle
per common
share $ 0.22
Cumulative
effect of
change in
accounting
principle
per common
share --
-------------
Diluted net
income
available
to common
shareholder
per common
share $ 0.22
=============
Weighted
average
shares 25,478,336
=============

Year Ended December 31,
2007 2006
------------ ------------
Cash flows from operations:
Net income $ 9,692,940 $ 1,072,083
Adjustments to reconcile net income to
net cash provided by operating
activities:
Depreciation and amortization 2,307,649 2,016,939
Interest expense -- 96,833
Realized gains on investments (845,398) (184,094)
Unrealized gains on investments (228,877) (46,926)
Stock-based compensation expense -
stock options 15,477 33,223
Stock-based compensation expense -
restricted shares 15,966 --
Cumulative effect of change in
accounting principle -- --
Change in fair value of warrants 3,045,992 1,269,377
Deferred income taxes (198,368) (1,291,549)
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable (736,431) 403,075
Funds receivable from customers (15,517,486) (6,026,226)
Prepaid expenses 56,399 (207,130)
Other assets (967,264) 167,593
Accounts payable and accrued expenses 4,282,955 4,651,264
Funds payable to customers 5,423,976 4,704,108
Provisions (274,101) (559,734)
Other liabilities 689,154 59,518
------------ ------------
Net cash provided by operating
activities 6,762,583 6,158,354
------------ ------------
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchase of investments (75,267,070) (4,944,956)
Proceeds from sale of investments 29,765,780 2,184,822
Payment for purchase of DeRemate, net of
cash acquired -- --
Purchase of intangible assets (28,748) (346,365)
Purchases of property and equipment (3,058,813) (2,097,555)
------------ ------------
Net cash used in investing activities (48,588,851) (5,204,054)
------------ ------------
Cash flows from financing activities:
Increase in short term debt 8,883,104 --
Decrease in short term debt -- (2,058)
Loans received -- --
Loans paid (9,000,000) (3,000,000)
Stock options exercised 38,576 7,107
Exercise of Warrants 749,991 --
Issuance of common stock 49,573,239 --
------------ ------------
Net cash provided by (used in) financing
activities 50,244,910 (2,994,951)
------------ ------------
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash
and cash equivalents 115,738 203,840
------------ ------------
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash
equivalents 8,534,380 (1,836,811)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of
year 7,143,027 8,979,838
------------ ------------

Cash and cash equivalents, end of year $ 15,677,407 $ 7,143,027
------------ ------------

The following tables summarize the financial results of our reporting segments

Year Ended December 31, 2007
-----------------------------------------------------
Marketplaces
-----------------------------------------------------
Other
Brazil Argentina Mexico Countries
------------ ------------ ----------- ------------
Net revenues $ 37,560,419 $ 11,342,792 $ 9,628,121 $ 10,986,185
Direct costs (24,079,798) (5,657,006) (6,339,762) (6,147,572)
------------ ------------ ----------- ------------
Direct
contribution 13,480,621 5,685,786 3,288,359 4,838,613

Total Payments Consolidated
------------ ------------ ------------

Net revenues $ 69,517,517 $ 15,608,824 $ 85,126,341
Direct costs (42,224,138) (11,237,121) (53,461,260)
------------ ------------ ------------
Direct contribution 27,293,379 4,371,703 31,665,081

Operating expenses and
indirect costs of net
revenues (10,731,381)
------------
Income from operations 20,933,700
------------
Other income (expenses):
Interest income 1,609,403
Interest expense and other
financial results (2,009,781)
Foreign exchange (3,106,515)
Other expenses, net (3,006,416)
------------
Net income before income /
asset tax expense $ 14,420,391
============

Year Ended December 31, 2006
-----------------------------------------------------
Marketplaces
-----------------------------------------------------
Other
Brazil Argentina Mexico Countries
------------ ------------ ----------- ------------

Net revenues $ 25,571,405 $ 7,027,681 $ 6,199,110 $ 5,930,873
Direct costs (18,193,271) (4,553,777) (5,040,322) (4,448,878)
------------ ------------ ----------- ------------
Direct
contribution 7,378,134 2,473,904 1,158,788 1,481,995

Total Payments Consolidated
------------ ------------ ------------

Net revenues $ 44,729,069 $ 7,329,821 $ 52,058,890
Direct costs (32,236,248) (6,561,532) (38,797,780)
------------ ------------ ------------
Direct contribution 12,492,821 768,289 13,261,110

Operating expenses and
indirect costs of net
revenues (7,863,181)
------------
Income from operations 5,397,929
------------

Other income (expenses):
Interest income 520,508
Interest expense and other financial
results (1,743,315)
Foreign exchange (391,981)
Other expenses, net (1,468,220)
------------
Net income before income / asset tax expense $ 2,314,921
============

Contact:
MercadoLibre, Inc.
Investor Relations contact:
Pedro Arnt
+54 (11) 5352 8000
[email protected]
Media Relations contact:
Lorena Diaz Quijano
+54 (11) 5352 8026
[email protected]

3SOF

News:

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