Groupon reports first profit, stock price surges

Groupon Inc posted its first quarterly profit sending its stock price up about 18 percent, Reuters reported.

The Chicago-based company, which had lost half its value this year, reigned in spending and signed up more customers after a dismal fourth quarter.

The stock rallied in after-hours trading to about $13.83, its largest single-day gain since it went public. Still the stock remains well below its $20 initial public offering in November.

The largest daily-deal website has been plagued by accounting problems and in March admitted to "material weakness" in the company's internal controls over its financial statements.

The Associated Press originally reported that the fourth-quarter loss was larger than expected because the company failed to set aside enough money to cover customer refunds.

More from GlobalPost: Groupon: 4th quarter weaker than reported

Bloomberg reported its first-quarter profit topped analysts’ estimates with revenue jumping 89 percent to $559.3 million from $295.5 million a year earlier. Analysts had projected, an average profit of 1 cent on sales of $530.6 million.

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