While revenues at the internet company have fallen sharply as the online advertising sales market shrank, Yahoo! cut losses significantly down to £6.1m in the fourth quarter of 2001 from £68.3m last time. Revenues fell by 61%, from £217.3m in 2000 to £132m in 2001.
Analysts had been forecasting earnings per share of 1 cent, however Yahoo! beat this figure, making a profit of £11.7m, or 3 cents a share. For the same period last quarter, the figure was 13 cents per share, on an operating profit of £56m.
Looking ahead to 2002, Yahoo! said it expected revenues of between £525m and £560m for the full year, with an EPS ratio of between 7 cents and 10 cents. The company restructured into six business units last year, and has outlined its plans to move from revenues based heavily on advertising to generating other sources of income, primarily through enhanced, paid-for services.
The departure of Mallet from Yahoo! is not unexpected, having been passed over for the CEO role, which went to Terry Semel in April 2001. Mallet is the latest in a long line of Yahoo! veterans to leave the company. He joined in 1995, as the company's 12th employee. Yahoo! said Mallet's reasons for leaving were "to take advantage of greater flexibility for family and business interests".
Mallet will leave in April. His successor has not yet been named.
Shares in Yahoo!, traded on Nasdaq, fell yesterday, closing at $17.87, down 8.22% on the previous day's close.
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