Yahoo! reverses '02 loss, posts a $46 million profit

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yahoo! Inc. reversed a year-ago loss and surpassed analysts' expectations for the third straight quarter — further progress in the Internet icon's turnaround.

The Sunnyvale-based company on Wednesday posted a fourth-quarter profit of $46.2 million, or 8 cents per share, bouncing back from a loss of $8.7 million, or 2 cents per share, at the same time in the prior year.

The earnings topped by 2 cents the consensus estimate of 6 cents per share among analysts polled by Thomson First Call.

With more money coming in from subscribers and advertising generated by its Web site's search engine, Yahoo's fourth-quarter revenue surged to $285.8 million, a 51 percent increase from the previous year's $188.9 million.

The results included the contributions of HotJobs, an online help-wanted section that Yahoo didn't own in 2001. Even without HotJobs, Yahoo said its fourth-quarter revenue would have climbed 39 percent from a year earlier.

The revenue exceeded analysts' consensus estimate of $279 million.

Yahoo disclosed the results after the stock market closed Wednesday. Yahoo's shares dipped 12 cents to close at $19.58 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, then fell another $1.21, or more than 6 percent, in extended trading.

The stock had climbed 20 percent during the first two weeks of this year amid enthusiasm about Yahoo's turnaround.

With three straight profitable quarters, Yahoo has been gradually restoring some of the luster that it lost during the dot-com crash.