As Microsoft waits in the wings with a hostile takeover in mind, the pressure was on Yahoo! to perform well this financial quarter and boost the €31 share price being offered, and Yahoo! has delivered with an 11pc year-on-year increase in gross profits.
With gross profit at US$1,063m for the first quarter of 2008, in comparison to US$958 for this time last year, Yahoo! is doing well. However, Microsoft does not think this will make a difference – is it a case of too little too late?
Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, said yesterday that the company will still go ahead with what it considers a reasonable offer, despite being rejected twice already by Yahoo!.
“We think we can accelerate our strategy by buying Yahoo! and will pay what makes sense for our shareholders,” said Ballmer.
Yahoo! CEO and co-founder Jerry Yang used the results to convince the public that the recent 700 job cuts were all part of a plan that is only beginning to pay off now, and not a sign of a company in trouble.
“Yahoo! is beginning to realise the benefits of the very substantial and deliberate long-term investments we’ve made to capitalise on the opportunities ahead in display and to recapture momentum in search,” said Yang.
The past quarter of positive financial results, several acquisitions and new product rollouts such as Yahoo! Shine have all conspired to “deliver attractive value to our stockholders”, claimed Yahoo! president, Sue Decker.
However, the offer of US$43bn in ‘cash and share’ from Microsoft does not look set to change – according to Reuters, Ballmer said at a press conference yesterday that while he wishes Yahoo! success in its results, it will not change a thing as far as its worth to the Redmond-based company.
By Marie Boran
Pictured: Yahoo! corporate building, Silicon Valley
