• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, May 2, 2018

Criteo on Wednesday reported $564 million in revenue for the first quarter of 2018 -- up 9% compared with the year-ago quarter. Revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs grew 14% to $240 million, beating analyst estimates of $233.08 million.

The company did miss analysts’ estimates of $0.46 per share, coming up short at $0.34 per share.

Criteo ended the quarter with 18,500 clients -- up 20% compared with the year-ago quarter, with a retention rate of close to 90%. The company added 400 new clients in the quarter, which reflects the its focus on the mid-market, Benoit Fouilland, chief financial officer at Criteo, told Digital News Daily.

Contributing to the increase in revenue were Criteo Customer Acquisition and Shopper Graph, as well as Sponsor Products, which launched after the acquisition of HookLogic at the end of 2016, according to Fouilland.

Criteo Shopper Graph -- made up of identity, interest, and measurement data -- reaches about 1.2 billion active online shoppers across devices, for example.

Fouilland also noted several challenges during the quarter. He said the company has “executed” plans well, but faced multiple challenges involving its ability to reach consumers. One example is Apple Safari’s recent implemented of data restrictions. The second is compliance with Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in which Criteo already complies.

“One of the uncertainties is that many companies will change their processes in preparation for GDPR,” he said.

Those changes typically have a chain reaction through the partner network.

In late April, Criteo also announced that JB Rudelle, founder and chairman, would return to resume the role of chief executive officer at Criteo's Paris headquarters. Former CEO Eric Eichmann moved into the role of advisor as he transitioned out of the role.