Yahoo! Results Exceed Expectations

Fourth quarter results for Yahoo! show a 4 percent decrease in revenue from the fourth quarter of 2008, but this is still a better result than the company was expecting.

Revenues were US$1,732 million for the quarter ending 31 December, 2009, which is up 10 percent from the third quarter of the year.

The company behind realestate.yahoo.com, the current number two property website in the US market, had revenues of $6,460 million for 2009 – a decrease of 10 percent compared to 2008.

Income from operations for the fourth quarter of 2009 was $119 million, compared to a loss of $278 million in the fourth quarter of 2008. Net income per diluted share was $0.11, compared to $0.22 for the fourth quarter of 2008. Non-GAAP net income per diluted share was $0.15, compared to $0.21 for the fourth quarter of 2008.

The company saw big increases in revenue from Owned & Operated display advertising, up 26 percent over the third quarter of 2009. Owned & Operated search advertising revenue increased 4 percent over the third quarter, which marked the first sequential increase since the third quarter of 2008.

CEO Carol Bartz remained positive, despite the decline in revenue:

“The fourth quarter marked a strong finish to 2009, which was a transformative year for Yahoo!. We beat the high end of our revenue guidance, saw demand for premium display advertising improve significantly, and grew Owned & Operated search advertising revenue sequentially for the first time since the third quarter of 2008. Our business has positive momentum and we feel good as we head into 2010.”

Yahoo! predicts its revenue for the first quarter of 2010 will be in the range of $1,575 million to $1,675 million. As Bartz pointed out in the company’s statement, this would mark the first quarter of year-on-year growth in six quarters.

“Things seem to be returning to a more normal state in the online advertising business,” The Press Association quotes Bartz as saying.

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