AOL’s Profit Increases From Strong Ad Sales

AOL has reported their best quarterly revenue growth over the past 8 years due to strong search and ad sales.  Revenue increased 4% to around $600 million in Q4 and beat analyst estimates of $573.3 million.

AOL’s ad revenues are becoming increasingly important as the company is aiming to become less dependent on their subscription-based dial-up services.  Media properties like The Huffington Post and Patch rose to 13% to hit around $410.6 million.

Advertising sold through AOL’s third-party network helped boost their overall revenues.  Revenue at AOL Networks, the company’s market for selling inventory on behalf of publishers, increased to $183.5 million.  The company’s net income rose to $35.7 million (41 cents per share) compared to $22.8 million (23 cents per share) one year earlier.

The subscription dial-up service is still a major portion of the company’s profits.  Operating income from this group before depreciation and amortization hit $158.7 million for the quarter.

AOL will be repurchasing $100 million worth of stock as authorized by the board.

[Souce: NYT]