Lastminute.com yesterday appeared to rein in its international expansion ambitions as part of a drive to turn a profit ahead of schedule.
It plans to focus on its "core" markets of Britain, France and Germany and reduce costs by 50% in territories including Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and parts of Scandinavia. Analysts said the move cast a shadow over Lastminute's strategy of creating a pan-European business.
Allan Leighton, the chairman, said improving profit margins and a tighter control of costs should enable the core operations in Britain and France to move into profit within the next year.
The future of the other international divisions, described as "satellite" operations, is unclear despite assurances that the e-tailer remains commit ted to building a pan-European business.
"I think they're admitting that the opportunity in some of those small countries is not as big as they first thought," said Heidi Fitzpatrick, an analyst at Lehman Brothers.
Lastminute refused to say how each individual territory was performing, although analysts, who are increasingly frustrated at the lack of transparency in the reporting, estimate that Britain and France could account for as much as 95% of turnover.
France makes a big contribution following last year's £59m acquisition of Degriftour and analysts speculate that Lastminute might have to pull off a similar takeover in Germany if it is to become one of the top three players in that market.
Without a big presence in Germany the market opportunity for Lastminute in Europe was substantially reduced, Ms Fitzpatrick added.
Uncertainty over wider international plans overshadowed a solid set of quarterly results from British e-commerce sector's best-known company.
Total order value the three months to March 31 - a fraught period for most internet firms - rose 37% on the previous quarter to £31m, while cash burn came in under £10m for the first time, at £9.1m.
Pre-tax losses narrowed slightly to £14.3m, leaving a better than expected £61.8m cash in the bank.
Martha Lane Fox, Lastminute's chief operating officer, said a four percentage point year-on- year climb in gross profit margins to 13.9% and a 38% rise in customer numbers demonstrated the business had strong foundations.
