Yahoo! profits up 244% in Q3

Pre-tax profits at Yahoo! were up a massive 244% year on year in the third quarter to $186 million.

The first nine months of the year saw costs fall to $2.1 billion, down from $2.3 billion in 2008.

Total Q3 revenues were down 12% on last year at $1.6 billion, with the fall driven by a 19% year-on-year decline in search ad revenue and an 8% fall in display advertising.

Yahoo! made several cutbacks contributing to the increase in profits, including a year on year fall in sales and marketing spend, from $1.2 billion in the first nine months of 2008, to $888 million this year.

Carol Bartz, Yahoo! chief executive officer, said: “With revenue coming in above our guidance and flat sequentially, we had a solid third quarter that signals our major businesses have stabilized.

“With new products like Yahoo! homepage, our brand revitalization campaign and expansion in the Middle East through Maktoob.com, our execution is improving and we’re focused on what we do best – being the center of people’s online lives.”