Overstock losses widen as sales lag

Salt Lake-based Overstock .com Inc., which sells excess inventory online, said Monday that its loss for the third quarter widened and warned that fourth-quarter revenue is so far lagging behind what it reported a year earlier.

The company's shares fell 18 percent.

The third-period net loss widened to $24.5 million, or $1.19 a share, from $12.4 million, or 66 cents, a year earlier. Overstock.com said sales for the current quarter "continue to lag slightly behind" last year's $318 million.

Overstock.com said it has been spending to boost visitors to its Web site, though it hasn't yet seen an increase, Chief Executive Officer Patrick Byrne said in the statement.

Third-quarter sales fell to $158.7 million from $169.3 million, the first year-over-year decline ever for the company, he said.

Shares of Overstock.com dropped $3.19 to close at $14.59 Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The drop is the biggest percentage decline in more than two years and led to a new 52-week low share price. In the past year, the stock has been as high as $43.40.