Display ads boost Yahoo! fourth quarter profits

January 29, 2010

Yahoo!'s fourth quarter profits for 2009 exceeded expectations, thanks to a resurgence in the online display advertising market.

Times Online reports that the internet giant recorded profits of $153 million (approx £94.3 million) in the fourth quarter of 2009, or 11 cents per share. A year earlier, Yahoo! reported a loss of $303 million (approx £187 million), representing a significant turnaround.

The company's largest growth was in display advertising, which grew by 26 per cent in the fourth quarter compared to Yahoo!'s third quarter results. Overall revenue for the three month period ending on 31 December also exceeded expectations slightly, totalling $1.73 billion (approx £1.07 billion).

Although this represents the fifth consecutive quarter in which net revenue has declined, Yahoo! chief executive Carol Bartz stated that the company is optimistic about the coming year. Ms Bartz explained: "Our business has positive momentum and we feel good as we head into 2010."

These results represent the company's best performance since Bartz was appointed CEO in early 2009. Her intent has been to re-establish Yahoo! as the centre of people's online lives and focus on its strength as an advertising company, reducing expenses further by hiring Microsoft to power its search engine.

Revenue in the first quarter of 2010 is predicted to range from $1.575 billion to $1.675 billion (approx £0.97 billion to £1.03 billion), Yahoo! said. The company's shares rose by 1.5 per cent in after-hours trade, following a 0.8 per cent gain during the regular trading session.


Source:  bigmouthmedia.com