Mayer adds a little lustre to Yahoo figures

Published on 30/01/2013 00:00

Yahoo got a little healthier during the last three months of 2012 as the long-suffering internet company took advantage of higher advertising prices and more money coming in from overseas investments to deliver numbers that exceeded analyst forecasts.

The results covered the first full quarter under chief executive Marissa Mayer, lured from Google in mid-July in Yahoo’s latest attempt to revive its depressed revenue and stock price.

Although Yahoo is not keeping pace with the overall growth of the internet ad market, the company fared well enough during the fourth quarter to produce its first full-year gain in revenue since 2008, though just $2.4 millon (£1.5m) higher than 2011’s total of nearly $5bn.

Yahoo is now being run by its fifth chief executive since 2008.

Mayer, 37, has raised hopes among investors and employees with her Google pedigree and her pledge to transform Yahoo’s website into a mesmerising destination that attracts web surfers and advertisers.

During her first six months, she has primarily focused on boosting employee morale and building better mobile and social networking services so Yahoo can make more money from technology’s hottest trends.