Ask Jeeves: quarterly earnings are rising, stocks are getting cheaper

Ask Jeeves, the owner of the search portal of the same name, reported an increase in profits and income in the 4th quarter of 2004. However, the presented figures did not meet market expectations and the company’s shares fell by 5%.

Revenue reached $ 86.1 million, mainly due to web advertising and last year’s acquisition of Interactive Search Holdings. According to the report, about 70% of revenue for the 4th quarter was obtained through partnership with Google. Revenues from web business in fiscal 4 rose by 16% against the same period last year, while Google’s growth was 28%, and that of Yahoo grew by 17%. Analysts were expecting $ 86.7 million in revenues from Ask Jeeves. According to experts from the Susquehanna financial group, the company’s market grew by 24% from Q3 to Q4 2004 and reached $ 1.8 billion.

Compared to the 4th quarter of last year, the company’s net profit increased 2.5 times – from $ 7.6 million ($ 0.13 per share) to $ 17.1 million ($ 0.25 per share). According to analysts of Ask Jeeves, in the first quarter of 2005, the company will receive revenue of $ 94 million, and net income will be $ 0.24 per share.