Yahoo posts positive fourth-quarter results

Carol Bartz has overseen a number of key changes at Yahoo in her first year

Yahoo has announced healthy financials for the fourth quarter of 2009, beating its own expectations to post 10 per cent growth on its third-quarter figures.

Overall 2009 revenue fell 10 per cent, but the rise in the final quarter to $1.73bn (£1.06bn), as well as a projected a rise in sales for the first quarter of 2010, will have heartened investors.

The positive end to 2009 also suggests that Yahoo is starting to see the effects of the first year of Carol Bartz's tenure as chief executive.

Bartz explained that the figures gave the company a strong finish to 2009, and that she expects to see further improvements in the coming year.

"It's been a transformative year for Yahoo. We beat the high end of our revenue guidance, saw demand for premium display advertising improve significantly, and grew owned and operated search advertising revenue sequentially for the first time since the third quarter of 2008," she said.

Bartz also noted that, at the midpoint of the first quarter, the company's revenue outlook looks set for its first year-over-year growth in six quarters.

The Yahoo chief will be hoping that the figures continue to rise in 2010 as the changes she has overseen, including attempts to streamline the company through asset removals such as the closure of Geocities, start to be felt across the business.

Bartz has also overseen a redesign of Yahoo's homepage and a new marketing campaign, as well as ending the company's abortive attempt to challenge Google for search engine traffic by signing a 10-year deal with Microsoft.