Yahoo posts modest increase in search, pulls out of Korea

Thanks to the sale of Yahoo's share in Alibaba last month, which resulted in a net gain of US$2.8 billion, the struggling internet giant posted a revenue a net income of US$3.16 billion—a large increase from the same quarter last year which posted a net income of 293 million. 

"Yahoo! had a solid third quarter, and we are encouraged by the stabilization in search and display revenue," said Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo in the company's financial earnings report. "We're taking important steps to position Yahoo for long-term success."

Newly appointed CEO of Yahoo Marissa Mayer told analysts in a conference call that Yahoo would use its now cash-rich status to focus on its search business, develop a mobile presence and update its other services, reported the New York Times. 

Breaking down the revenue by region, Yahoo suffered a loss in Asia-Pacific ( down 5.5 per cent to US$261.5 million) and in the EMEA (down 35 per cent to US$96.5 million). Only in the Americas did the struggling Internet giant register a modest growth of 6.6 per cent to US$843.7 million. 

On Friday, Yahoo announced that it would be closing down its business in Korea at the end of the year after 15 years citing "growing challenges". In a statement, Yahoo said that the decision was to streamline operations and focus resources on building a stronger global business that’s set up for long-term growth and success". 

This, along with Yahoo's sale of its shares in Alibaba and the decision to pull out of Indonesian  location based social service Koprol, has prompted speculation that the company would be puling out of Asia-Pacific and rumours implying that Yahoo may sell its 35 per cent stake in Yahoo Japan to its majority owner, Softbank. 

Nevertheless, a Yahoo spokesperson told Campaign that there was "no such news" from Yahoo regarding Japan.

In an official statement, Yahoo said:

There are currently no plans to exit other markets.  South Korea was a unique situation where we saw no real opportunity for growth.  

Yahoo! has a strong business in Asia, and we see continued growth in revenue and usage across our editorial sites, communications services and ecommerce platforms.  We’re committed to the APAC business and on building delightful experiences for the millions of people across the region who come to Yahoo! every day.