ValueClick Q4: Recession Arrives on the Web and It Ain't Pretty

(MoneyWatch)  ValueClick's Q4 results today were horrible, and they give the lie to the notion -- propagated here on BNET, mea culpa -- that the recession will leave the web advertising business unscathed.

Its Q4 revenues were $150 million, down 15 percent from $175 million the year prior. The company recorded a loss of $256 million, based on a "goodwill impairment" charge of $327 million.

BNET previously noted:

[Is] a recession in web advertising is on its way? Probably not.

Wrong!

... networks like ValueClick will have to see a crushing fall-off in revenue ahead of Christmas for the entire year to be recessionary.

ValueClick's full year revenues were $625 million, up only a shade from $616 million last year. So it's clear that Q4 and Q1 will be the official recession on the web for Valueclick.

The experience will be repeated elsewhere: prices for web ads have been in decline for some weeks now.

More bad news may be coming for ValueClick as the company said it was still in the middle of its goodwill impairment "tests" and its numbers may change. Its statement did not elaborate on the goodwill loss. It also said its Q1 2009 guidance calls for even lower future revenues: $126-$132 million.

Sales at the company were down across the board: media, search, affiliate marketing and technology all saw lower business.

Some have suggested -- such as the folks at Tribble -- that the Big Dumb Agencies are dead. But if you look at Q4 results for Omnicom and Publicis, and compare them to ValueClick's, you're tempted to conclude that being diversified in web advertising, PR and old fashioned TV is the preferable strategy. So far.

• BNET's previous coverage of the web ad economy:
• Q4: Web Ad Economy Enters Recession; Display Ad Prices Decline
• Q3: As Traditional Ad Economy Sinks, Web Ads Still in Growth Mode
• Web Ad Economy Faces Recession -- Possibly
• Q&A: ValueClick's Ardis on Where Client Money Is Going