Yahoo! profits dip despite revenue hike

Yahoo! has reported a slight fall in third-quarter profits despite a 12% rise in revenues to $1.8bn (£886m) from $1.6bn for the same period last year and the “100-day” reorganisation instigated by chief executive Jerry Yang on his return to the online company earlier this year.

Yahoo!’s net income for the quarter was $151m (£74m) compared to $159m (£78m) for the same period last year. The results were slightly lower than expected, but the internet service provider did post a rise in revenues from $1.58bn (£776m) in 2006 to $1.77bn (£870m) for the same period this year.

Marketing services revenues rose 13% to $1.54bn (£756m) in 2007 compared to a to $1.37bn (£673) for the same period in 2006, but sales and marketing expenses rose to $877m (£430m) from $697m (£342) last year.

Announcing the results, Yahoo! co-founder Yang said of his 100-day plan to reorganise the business: “Over the past three months, we conducted a thorough review of our business and the market. We’ve made key strategic decisions to invest in and grow our large communities of users, advertisers, and publishers. We’ve also made progress in sharpening our focus and improving our execution.

“Moving forward, we are focused on three big, multi-year objectives: to become the starting point for the most consumers on the internet; to be the ‘must buy’ for the most advertisers; and to deliver open, industry-leading platforms that attract the most developers. We are executing against our transformation and are excited about playing a leadership role in the large and growing internet market.”