Yahoo online ad sales hit by downturn

Internet group Yahoo has announced a loss for the final quarter of 2008 as sales of online ads were hit by the global economic downturn.

The company, which is based in Sunnyvale, California, reported a loss of $303 million (£215 million) compared with a profit of $205 million a year ago.

However, analysts said the loss was hit by $600 million of restructuring charges and write-downs, and added that the company had weathered the downturn well.

Newly-appointed chief executive Carol Bartz is cautious about the short-term but told the BBC that “the company made important investments while aggressively managing costs, leaving us better positioned to weather the economic downturn and emerge stronger when advertiser spending improves.”

Ms Bartz replaces co-founder Jerry Yang who stepped down after his rejection of a $47 billion takeover offer from Microsoft last year met with disapproval by many shareholders.

A tie-up of the two companies would have helped them compete more effectively with Google, who recently reported that fourth-quarter revenue grew 18%.

Last October, Yahoo eliminated 1,500 positions (10% of its workforce) in a bid to cut costs.

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