Yahoo! Q1 revenues at $1,818-mn

SUNNYVALE, USA: Yahoo! Inc. today reported revenues of $1,818 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008, a nine per cent increase compared to $1,672 million for the same period of 2007.

Net income for the first quarter of 2008 was $542 million or $0.37 per diluted share compared to $142 million or $0.10 per diluted share for the same period of 2007.

Net income for the first quarter of 2008 includes the company’s net non-cash gain of $401 million related to Alibaba Group's initial public offering of Alibaba.com, net of tax, which is included in earnings in equity interests.

During the first quarter, the United States segment revenues were $1,307 million, up 19 per cent year-on-year. However, International segment revenues for the first quarter of 2008 were $510 million, an 11 per cent decrease compared to $571 million for the same period a year ago.

“As outlined in our investor presentation, we believe we can significantly accelerate our revenue growth, return to our high margins, and double our operating cash flow by 2010. This quarter’s solid performance underscores the fact that we are executing on that plan. Yahoo! is beginning to realize the benefits of the very substantial and deliberate long-term investments we’ve made to capitalize on the opportunities ahead in display and to recapture momentum in search,” said Jerry Yang, co-founder and chief executive officer, Yahoo! Inc.

“This past quarter’s financial results, important acquisitions, and most importantly, the string of successful product rollouts demonstrate our enhanced execution against our longer-range goals. As we look forward, we are particularly excited by the potential capability of AMP! from Yahoo!, our new ad management platform to help us further extend our lead in display advertising, which more than any other area of online advertising we believe has great potential for growth,” Sue Decker, president, Yahoo! Inc.