Yahoo! profits up but shares slide 10%

by Daniel Farey-Jones, Brand Republic 20-Jul-05, 09:00

LONDON - Yahoo! shares slid 10% as analysts voiced disappointment with second-quarter results, despite a boost to revenues of 51% on last year to $1.25bn (£720m) and a big rise in pre-tax profits, from an undisclosed investment, of 571% to $755m.

The results were largely in line with analysts' expectations but failed to show the more dramatic growth increases seen in recent quarters, raising fears about long-trem prospects.

The sum Yahoo! made from selling its investments was $959m, and there is speculation that it could have sold part of its stake in Google, taking advantage of the huge increase in the search company's shares since its flotation last year. It invested $10m in Google in 2000.

The company increased the amount of money it makes from providing marketing services by 51% to $1.09bn. The remainder of its revenue came from fees and was up 45% to $159m.

International revenues grew by 84% to $383m, faster than the 39% increase in US revenues to $870m.

Terry Semel, chairman and CEO, said: "Yahoo! continued to see solid growth in the second quarter as a result of our strength in both search marketing and brand advertising, increased engagement from our large, global audience, and our ability to execute and perform according to plan."

However, Yahoo's shares slipped following the announcement as the results had not come up to analysts' expectations.

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