Yahoo on Tuesday reported that second-quarter profit rose 8 percent as cost-trimming enabled the Internet firm to offset sliding revenues.
Yahoo said its net income in the quarter ending June 30 was US$141 million, or US$0.10 per share, compared with US$131 million, or US$0.09 per share, in the same period last year.
But Yahoo also reported that revenue for the quarter slipped to US$1.14 billion from US$1.35 billion in the same quarter last year.
“I’m pleased with our results this past quarter,” said Yahoo chief executive Carol Bartz. “We established a clear, simple vision to be the center of people’s lives online, and we’re backing that vision with important initiatives to create ‘wow’ experiences for our users.”
Yahoo stock price sank more than 3 percent to US$16.21 per share in after hours trading that followed release of the earnings figures.
In a conference call with analysts and reporters, Bartz said Yahoo will invest millions in products, engineers and promotions in the faith that eating into profit margins now will pay-off once the economy rebounds.
“There is certainly reason to believe that revenue will not stay flat forever,” Bartz said. “We’re going to get efficiency; we think revenue is going up.”
The release of the earnings figures came on the same day Yahoo began rolling out a promised major redesign of its homepage to revitalize its image and incorporate hot new online trends.
The debut of the promised overhaul comes several months ahead of schedule and as speculation grows of renewed talks of an online search deal between Yahoo and global technology giant Microsoft.
Bartz did not comment on rumored talks with Microsoft regarding an online search advertising deal with the Redmond, Washington-based colossus. She gave her stamp of approval to Microsoft’s new Bing search engine.
“I think Bing is actually a good product,” Bartz said. “Microsoft deserves kudos for Bing.”
Bartz has stated publicly that she is open to a deal with Microsoft but that she believes Yahoo’s search business to be worth “boatloads of money.”
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS