Yahoo Inc raised its financial target on Wednesday, reflecting expectations that the Internet company would attract more online advertisers as it reaps savings from an upcoming search partnership with Microsoft Corp.
In a presentation for stock market analysts, Yahoo projected its operating profit margin would range from 18 percent to 24 percent by 2013. That’s more ambitious than the margin of 15 percent to 20 percent forecast by the company in its last all-day meeting with analysts seven months ago.
Reaching the new goal will be a challenge, given Yahoo’s operating profit margin last year was just 6 percent.
Yahoo expects annual revenue to increase by an average of 7 to 10 percent through 2013. The company’s revenue declined 10 percent last year as the recession drove down Internet ad rates and shrunk marketing budgets. This year started off better, with revenue edging up 1 percent in the first quarter.
Last year’s downturn turned another Yahoo forecast into a broken promise. In early 2008, Yahoo released a financial blueprint calling for net revenue growth of about 25 percent last year and this year. That rosy outlook came while Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang (楊致遠) was trying to fend off an unsolicited takeover attempt by Microsoft.
Yahoo hired Silicon Valley veteran Carol Bartz to replace Yang as CEO 16 months ago in an attempt to snap out of prolonged financial funk and lift the company’s sagging stock. The shares gained US$0.14 on Wednesday to close at US$15.45, far below Microsoft’s last offer of US$33 per share two years ago.
Microsoft is now responsible for a key piece of Bartz’s turnaround strategy by providing the technology that will power Yahoo’s search engine and provide ads ties to the requests made by users.
Yahoo will keep 88 percent of the revenue from search ads clicked on its Web site while spending less on engineers, computers and research to deliver the results. By 2013, Yahoo expects the Microsoft deal to be producing at least US$650 million in annual savings. Overall, Yahoo expects its annual costs to rise by an average of 2 percent to 3 percent through 2013.
Microsoft is expected to start delivering some of Yahoo’s search results late this year. The transition won’t be complete, though, until next year.
Bartz also has been closing or selling some of Yahoo’s less profitable services, while bringing in more content from other popular Internet hangouts such as Facebook, Twitter and online game maker Zynga. She is hoping those services will help keep people on Yahoo’s Web site for longer periods of time.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
‘BOOMING’: ’ The number of partners we have here is incredible. You can see from their stock prices. They’re doing so well, they’re so happy,’ Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp’s spending in Taiwan has ballooned to about US$150 billion a year, 10 times the US$10 billion to US$15 billion the company spent five years ago, Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday, suggesting Taiwan’s strategic importance in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. “Taiwan is the epicenter of the AI revolution. This is where the chips come, packaging comes. This is where the systems are made. This is where AI supercomputers were created,” Huang said at a meeting for the company’s employees in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei, the planned site of Nvidia’s Taipei headquarters. “Taiwan
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
RSS