Maxim Group Reiterates on Youku Tudou on Turn From Revenue Growth to Cost Control

In a report published Friday, Maxim Group analyst Echo He reiterated a Hold rating on

. In the report, Maxim Group noted, “Last night YOKU reported 3Q13 revenue of RMB858M ($140M), 1% above consensus. Ad revenue was RMB745M ($122M), representing 3% q/q growth, significantly lower than the q/q growth rate of 20%-30% normally seen over the past five years. GAAP EPS loss was ($0.21), surprisingly higher than consensus estimate of ($0.06), mainly due to an acceleration of content amortization, which incurred additional costs of RMB144M ($24M) or ($0.14)/share. 4Q13 ad revenue was guided at RMB780M-RMB820M ($127.5M-$134M), 5% lower than consensus expectation.” Youku Tudou closed on Thursday at $26.36.