Sapient Corporation: An unbeatable blend

Too tired to go out at night, but still want to enjoy the nightlife? Just sign in to your Facebook account, download the Burn Alter Ego applet, and upload your face onto an avatar. Your avatar will go out bar-hopping at night with your friends’ avatars, then report back in the morning in a blog that goes on your profile page, complete with photos. You’ll have so much fun you won’t even notice you’re shilling for Coca Cola’s new Burn Energy Drink.

This advertising campaign, which uses Facebook’s powerful platform as a viral ad carrier, is the brainchild of Sapient Interactive, one half of Boston-based global services firm Sapient Corporation (Nasdaq:SAPE). Sapient Interactive provides brand and marketing strategy, Web design and development, and emerging media expertise. The other side of the business, Sapient Consulting, provides business and IT strategy as well as outsourcing services such as testing, maintenance, and support. The $1.09 billion market-cap company recently dropped two rounds of good news on investors: the SEC closed its investigation of Sapient’s alleged stock options-backdating and will not bring enforcement action. Oh, and second-quarter results were a blowout that handily beat the Street’s expectations. 

Service revenue for the second quarter was $165.8 million, up 29% year over year, with the fast-growing European market showing a 54% increase. The company posted second-quarter earnings of $11.6 million, or $0.09 EPS, compared with $847,000, or $0.01 a year earlier. Analysts had been expecting $0.06 per share on revenues of $158.4 million. Earnings per share adjusted for the company’s costs related to the stock options investigation and restatement were $0.13 for the quarter, . . .

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