Earnings: IAC’s Revs Buoyed By Ask

IAC/InterActiveCorp’s Q3 revenues beat anaylsts estimates for the third quarter. Adjusted net income was $114.6 million compared with $70.4 million. Sales rose 55% from a year ago to $1.48 billion.

Ask Jeeves helped narrow the operating loss in the media and advertising business to $900,000 from $12 million. Sales jumped 958% to $83.5 million. Sales at Ask Jeeves rose 15%.

Record profit at the company’s personals unit, which showed a 19% jump in paid subscribers, bolstered the membership and subscriptions business.

Release: Ask Jeeves’ decision to significantly reduce the number of sponsored search results on its site is believed to have enhanced the search experience for users. Sector results were also favorably impacted by increased pay-for-performance revenue and lower operating expenses at Citysearch, which contributed positive earnings in the quarter.

ClickZ: From the earnings call: “There’s a symbiosis that’s natural between a search engine and these fantastic vertical services,” Diller said. “As you integrate these into search results, you give consumers a better value-add than they can get anywhere else. It’s that differentiation that will allow us to grow share.”

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