Yahoo revenues slip again in second quarter

Yahoo revenues decline by four per cent, while Alibaba now accounts for two-thirds of the company's value

Yahoo has posted another disappointing set of financial results as CEO Marissa Mayer's turnaround resolutely refuses to work - but the company's stock price has been held up by the $26bn stake in Alibaba, the Chinese internet company in which Yahoo owns a 24 per cent shareholding.

In the company's second quarter, revenues fell by four per cent to $1.084bn, while income from operations tumbled 72 per cent to $38m.

Mayer did not gloss over her disappointment with the results: "Our top priority is revenue growth and by that measure, we are not satisfied with our Q2 results. While several areas showed strength, their growth was offset by declines," she said.

She continued: "Yahoo Search, for example, had a strong quarter, growing 6 per cent year-over-year on a revenue ex-TAC [traffic acquisition cost] basis and 19 per cent year-over-year in search click-driven revenue. Our social, mobile, video and native areas also grew with significant momentum, collectively gaining nearly 90 per cent year-over-year.

"However, display remains an area of investment and transition. In the second quarter, we saw display revenue decline, further highlighting the fact that we need to work faster to ameliorate the negative trends. I believe we can and will do better moving forward... Overall, I remain confident in Yahoo's future, our strategy, and our return to long-term growth."

The results indicate that the acquisitions made by CEO Marissa Mayer have yet to be realised in revenue and profit growth. Furthermore, with the company's market capitalisation currently at $36.5bn, the lion's share of Yahoo's value is now wrapped up in its Alibaba share stake, rather than the value of the company's continuing operations.

Alibaba is due to float this summer and Mayer will be under pressure to sell the stake and pass the earnings on to shareholders.