Yahoo earnings show former frontrunner is back on track

Hopes of a turnaround at Yahoo, the once-powerful internet business, were boosted last night after the company reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.

The figures cover the first full quarter under the leadership of Marissa Mayer, right, who was brought in from Google last year to turn the business around.

Although profits dipped as the company recorded a one-off charge related to its exit from South Korea, Yahoo's revenues rose 4 per cent to $1.22bn, against expectations of around $1.21bn. The figure excluded traffic acquisition costs, or the sales that Yahoo passes on to its partners. Profits stood at around $272m or 23 cents a share, down from around $296m or 24 cents per share a year earlier. However, stripping out the one-off items, the per share figure stood at 32 cents, up from 25 cents before, and well above expectations of around 28 cents.