Yahoo to cut 5 percent of jobs

Yahoo Inc said it would cut 5 percent of its global workforce and reported quarterly results that showed progress toward controlling costs, sending shares higher in an after-hours relief rally.

The Internet company said economic conditions remained challenging, as revenue on Yahoo Websites from both display ads and search ads fell during the first quarter.

But the decline in revenue was offset by better cost controls, as new Chief Executive Carol Bartz seeks to revive Yahoo's fortunes.

"People were really looking at the profit structure of the business and for things not to be falling apart," said Kaufman Brothers analyst Jason Avilio.

Yahoo said last October it would cut about one-tenth of its workforce, or about 1,600 jobs. The company finished 2008 with roughly 13,600 employees and said it would take severance charges from the new round of layoffs during the second quarter.

The company also announced in an internal memo to employees on Tuesday that it planned to implement a mandatory shutdown of operations during the holiday week of December 25, 2009 through January 1, 2010.

Yahoo said its operating cash flow, excluding certain items, was $409 million in the first quarter, at the high end of the $365 million to $415 million range it forecast in January. Yahoo shares were up 54 cents at $14.92 in after-hours trading on Tuesday.

The company's stock is up roughly 9 percent from its Monday close of $13.66. Yahoo's financial report comes as speculation has mounted that the firm has restarted discussions with software giant Microsoft Corp about an Internet search partnership, following last year's failed merger negotiations.

Bartz, who replaced Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang in the top job in January, declined to comment on anything related to Microsoft during the conference call on Tuesday.

But she reiterated her belief that search is a very valuable part of Yahoo's business.

"I'm well-versed enough in the search business at Yahoo to say it's absolutely critical to Yahoo," Bartz said in response to a question regarding whether she is now familiar enough with the business to respond to an offer for search.

AIM TO KEEP COSTS IN LINE In the first full quarter under Bartz's leadership, Yahoo generated revenue of $1.58 billion, down 13 percent from the year-ago period.

Excluding traffic acquisition costs (TAC), Yahoo's revenue was $1.16 billion, compared with the average analyst expectation of $1.2 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.

The Sunnyvale, California-based company reported a net profit in the first quarter of $118 million, or 8 cents a share -- down from $537 million, or 37 cents a share, a year earlier.

Wall Street analysts, on average, had forecast earnings at 8 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates. While revenues were "a bit light," Jefferies & Co. analyst Youssef Squali said in an e-mail that Yahoo's overall results, particularly on the bottom line, were not bad given the environment.

Yahoo said that revenue from display ads on its owned and operated Websites slid 13 percent year-over-year in the first quarter, with revenue from automotive advertisers down "substantially" and spending by retail advertisers "softened" compared to the year ago period.

Revenue from search-based ads on Yahoo sites were down 3 percent. And Yahoo said that advertisers were spending less money to bid for the individual keywords that their ads appear alongside, echoing a theme present in results last week from Google Inc, the No.1 U.S. Internet search company.

Yahoo, like Google, stressed the importance of keeping costs in line amid the difficult economy. The new round of job cuts come about two months after Bartz announced a reorganization of Yahoo's internal management structure.

The layoffs, said Bartz, are a "natural outgrowth" of the reorganization, which will allow Yahoo to streamline its operations and eliminate duplication of efforts.

The Internet company said it would also continue to implement unspecified "non-headcount cost reductions," so it can increase its ability to make strategic investments and target hiring in its core operations "It's crucial that management adjusts the cost structure to the new growth (or lack thereof) realities; so margin protection is paramount to Yahoo right now," said Jefferies analyst Squali.

"We think there is potential outperformance on margins." Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen told Reuters there were "still very dark clouds on the horizon" for the economy.

"I'll try to resist calling the bottom in any way," he said in a telephone interview. Yahoo projected that sales in the current quarter would range between $1.425 billion and $1.625 billion.

World economy in severe recession, IMF says

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday slashed growth forecasts for every major country and urged governments to take forceful action to ensure the world economy's recovery from a severe recession.

In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF said the global economy would likely contract 1.3 percent this year in the deepest post-World War Two recession by far. Growth is set to re-emerge at a sluggish 1.9 percent next year but the pick-up depends on aggressive measures to repair a poorly functioning financial system.

"The longer this goes on, the longer and the deeper will be the recession," IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard told a news conference. Just three months ago, the IMF had projected global growth of 0.5 percent, although last month it warned of a deep recession.

The Washington-based institution said it revised its forecasts downward because financial markets appear likely to take longer to stabilize than it had thought earlier.

"A key concern is that policies may be insufficient to arrest the negative feedback between deteriorating financial conditions and weakening economies in the face of limited public support for policy actions," the IMF said.

The IMF said on Tuesday that banks and other financial institutions around the world faced losses which could amount to $4.1 trillion. It said banks would likely need to raise $875 billion in fresh capital.

In offering new economic projections, the IMF said government measures to battle recession should be sustained, if not increased, in 2010, warning that premature withdrawal of stimulus could set back a recovery.

It said interest rates in major advanced economies are likely to be lowered to or remain near zero, and said authorities should move quickly to cut interest rates where there was room for further easing.

Blanchard said emerging markets were dealing with a sharp drop in capital flows and a collapse in global trade. While, growth is expected to pick up in emerging nations, including China and India, a recovery to previous healthy levels will depend on a pick-up in advanced economies. EPICENTER OF CRISIS The IMF said the United States remains at the epicenter of the crisis, and it said it now expected the US economy to contract 2.8 percent this year.

It said while there were signs the US recession might be easing, a recovery was unlikely to take hold until next year, which would leave 2010 gross domestic product flat.

"There has been some improvement in business confidence, some signs of bottoming out in the housing market, but these are early days and we should not expect a return to growth any time soon," IMF economist Charles Collyns said.

IMF economist Jorg Decressin said, however, a recovery in the United States was likely to occur before a pick-up in the euro area, where fiscal and monetary stimulus kicked in later.

The IMF forecast the euro zone economy will shrink by 4.2 percent this year and fall a further 0.4 percent in 2010 and it criticized the currency bloc for a weak policy response. Among euro area countries, Ireland will suffer the sharpest contraction.

Its economy is likely to shrink by 8 percent this year and by 3 percent next year, the IMF said.

The IMF said it was especially important for European Union countries to coordinate financial policy as bank loan books deteriorate due to a heavy exposure to a slumping emerging Europe.

In Asia, where countries are being harder hit by a drop in global trade than by troubles in the financial sector, the IMF said Japan's recession would be far deeper than previously thought, while China's economy will grow at a much slower pace.

Better Business Forum to get new footing

The Bangladesh Better Business Forum, a high-powered body formed during the last caretaker government for strengthening the country's trade and economy, will get a new footing, the finance minister has said.

Talking exclusively with bdnews24.com on Monday, AMA Muhith said, "The forum worked well during the caretaker government's two years. Quite a good number of recommendations from the BBF had a positive impact on the country's economy."

"So we want to revive the BBF," he said.

The Fakhruddin Ahmed-led interim administration, in a move hailed by businesses, unveiled the 38-strong high-profile forum on Nov 26, 2007 to maintain institutional relations with the private sector.

Its stated aim had been "to create an environment favourable to investment and economic growth".

The government will soon reconstitute the body with the prime minister at its head, as the chief adviser had been before, said Muhith.

"There will be little change to the number and composition of members and its working areas will be the same," he said.

He said the forum would meet at least once a month, as it did previously, to suggest measures for the economy to overcome hurdles. "And the government will enforce the recommendations," said the minister.

The forum was launched with members from the top tiers of the government and private sector.

Muhith said he met Sunday with a number of BBF members, including the FBCCI president, all of whom asked the government to keep up the forum active.

Anisul Huq, president of the country's apex trade body FBCCI, also lauded the efficiency of the BBF and said the institution was able to ensure swift actions as the head of the government was the chief of the body.

"There was little bureaucratic tangle," Huq said, with a hope that the body would be able to carry out its tasks under the present government as well to boost the country's economy and trade.

Pizza Hut, KFC sensitise people on Earth Day

Pizza Hut and KFC, the world famous chain restaurants in Dhaka, observed the Earth Day Wednesday with their unique exotic flavours.

Transcom Foods Ltd, the franchisee of Pizza Hut and KFC in Bangladesh, is celebrating the day through a unique campaign. They are using the visual of a pair of diver's fins as promotional tool to remind the audience of the new underwater life to make them aware and start acting. Now!

The campaign suggests its audience to be a minimalist while using power, gas and water, and avoid using, whenever possible, motorised vehicles and air conditioners.

Real snorkel swimmers in real diving gears walked around in all the Pizza Hut and KFC branches Wednesday, talking to the people, handing out brochures and answering questions related to the ten ways, the brochure suggests, in which anybody could help in efforts to cool the earth down and maybe save Bangladesh.

With global temperatures and sea levels rising, about two-thirds of lowlying Bangladesh are likely to be submerged by 2050 if the current trends of the changing climate are not halted, scientists say.

Akku Chowdhury, Transcom Foods director, said they were trying to procure and use maximum number of local ingredients while preparing foods to reduce carbon emission.

Coca-Cola's lower profit meets Street view

Coca-Cola Co reported a lower quarterly profit on Tuesday that met Wall Street estimates as the weak global economy led to slower international sales growth.

Coke, which gets the bulk of its sales from abroad, said international sales by volume rose 3 percent, which is lower than last year's growth rates which were in the 5 percent to 7 percent range.

Volume fell 2 percent in North America, and rose 2 percent worldwide.

Shares of the world's largest soft drink maker were down 0.9 percent after falling in premarket trade, when the broader market was also indicated downward.

"I don't think it's overly specifically tied to Coke," Gary Bradshaw, a portfolio manager with Hodges Capital Management, said about the market. "But Coke didn't have a whole lot to add to good news out there ... When I think about the weak US economy and the weak global economy, to grow case volume 2 percent, it's not great, but OK."

Coke said net income was $1.35 billion, or 58 cents per share, in the first quarter ended on April 3, down from $1.5 billion, or 64 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, Coke earned 65 cents per share, meeting analysts' average forecast, according to Reuters Estimates.

Operating revenue fell 2.8 percent to $7.17 billion.

International sales were driven by 31 percent volume growth in India and 10 percent growth in China. Volume fell 2 percent in Central and Eastern Europe.

The strength of the U.S. dollar versus foreign currencies hurt operating revenue by 10 percentage points and operating income by 17 percentage points.

Coke forecast currency fluctuations to hurt operating income by 14 to 16 percentage points in the second quarter.

Coke's results came a day after archrival PepsiCo Inc reported a higher-than-expected profit despite a 6 percent volume decline in its domestic soft drink business.

Pepsi also announced an unsolicited takeover bid for its two largest bottlers Pepsi Bottling Group Inc and PepsiAmericas Inc, which resurrected speculation that Coke might take over Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc, its largest bottler.

But Coke has repeatedly said it had no intention of doing so, and did not mention it in its earnings release.

Atlanta-based Coke does not provide specific earnings forecasts, but has said it was looking to meet its long-term target of 3 percent to 4 percent volume growth and high single-digit earnings-per-share growth this year.

Coca-Cola shares were down 42 cents at $43.91 after rising to $44.95 in early morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

60,727 more tourists visited country in 2008 than previous year

A total of 60,727 more foreign tourists visited Bangladesh in 2008 than that of the previous year as 3,49,837 tourists arrived in 2008 and 2,89,110 in 2007.

Incomes from the tourism sector stood at Taka 526.52 crore in 2007 and Taka 459.78 crore in 2008, which was Taka 66.84 crore less than the previous year, according to a Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) figure.

The less incomes were fetched from the sector due to arrival of more tourists from neighbouring countries, mostly from India, by road and they also spent less in comparison with the European and US visitors.

But the better activities are being expected from the tourism sector this year as both the private and public enterprises are moving for organising the internal tourism further, said BPC Chairman Shafiq Alam Mehdi today.

The BPC chairman while addressing a press conference at Jatiya Press Club on organising a tourism fair in Dhaka, said the tourist operators have been coordinating efforts to boost the internal tourism for the three consecutive years successfully.

The foreign tourists would not come if they find developed tourism infrastructures and services, Shafiq said.

The BPC chairman said the new government at present is giving final touches to enact a tourism law and if it is enforced, the sector will further be flourished.

He said there was no vacant seat in private and public tourist resorts and hotels in Cox's Bazar even when the cyclone 'Bijli' was brewing on Friday and Saturday last.

President of Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh Mohaimen Sadek said the tourism sector should be developed vigorously as the export of manpower has come down due to the global meltdown.

General Secretary of the Tourism Developers Association and Editor of monthly Parjatan Bichitra Mohiuddin Helal said they will organise the 3rd tourism fair from August 12 in Dhaka.

Dhaka will remain stick to One China policy

Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni today said Bangladesh would remain stick to One China Policy as the newly appointed Chinese ambassador in Dhaka Zhang Zianyi called on her at her office.

"Bangladesh will remain stick to One China Policy," a foreign ministry statement quoted her as saying during the meeting with the envoy.

It said they discussed issues of bilateral relations in trade, development assistance, investment, trade balance and cooperation, particularly in power sector.

"The issues of Rohingya refugees and maritime boundary (with Myanmar, bordering both Bangladesh and China) also came up in the discussion," the statement said.

It said the minister told the envoy Bangladesh with its limited resources provided shelter for the Rohingya refugees but "they are nationals of Myanmar and Yangon must take their men back".

The ambassador recalled his country's ties with Bangladesh for hundreds of years and said steps should be taken to strengthen the relations.

20 officials nominated for Japan scholarship

The nomination announcement ceremony for Japan Development Scholarship (JDS) candidates was held today at the NEC Building, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the city.

M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Secretary of ERD, Ministry of Finance, and Yonezo Fukuda, Charge d'Affaires of Japan to Bangladesh, were present on the occasion.

Out of 269 candidates, 20 Bangladeshi young government officials have been selected for the JDS, said a press release of the Japan Embassy here.

The finalists will take Japanese language training programme from April 22 for two months. They will soon leave for studying in Japan for two years to get Master's degrees in various fields.

During the ceremony, the Charge d'Affaires of Japan urged JDS finalists to keep in mind that both Bangladeshi and Japanese people expect a great deal from them for the development of their own country through making the best use of knowledge and experience acquired in Japan.

The formal title of Japan Development Scholarship is "The Japanese Grant Aid for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS)." This was established by the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh with the assistance of the Government of Japan in 2001.

In last seven years, a total of 147 JDS fellows were sent to Japan, and almost three fourths of them have returned to Bangladesh with their accomplishments and ambitions to contribute to the country.

Economy Bangladesh

Economy - overview:
Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and ill-governed nation. Although half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single-most-important product. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, inadequate port facilities, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Economic reform is stalled in many instances by political infighting and corruption at all levels of government. Progress also has been blocked by opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups. The BNP government, led by Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA, has the parliamentary strength to push through needed reforms, but the party's political will to do so has been lacking in key
areas. One encouraging note: growth has been a steady 5% for the past several years.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $258.8 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:5.3% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita :purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:agriculture: 21.7% industry: 26.6% services: 51.7% (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):23.2% of GDP (2003)

Population below poverty line:35.6% (FY95/96 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:lowest 10%: 3.9% highest 10%: 28.6% (1995-96 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:33.6 (FY95/96)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):5.6% (2003 est.)

Labor force:64.02 million
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion in 1998-99 (2003)

Labor force - by occupation:agriculture 63%, industry 11%, services 26% (FY95/96)

Unemployment rate:40% (includes underemployment) (2002 est.)

Budget:revenues: $5.352 billion expenditures: $7.55 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003)

Public debt:43.3% of GDP (2003)

Agriculture - products:rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry

Industries:cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar

Industrial production growth rate:1.9% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:15.33 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:fossil fuel: 93.7% hydro: 6.3% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:14.25 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:3,581 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:71,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:NA (2001)

Oil - imports:NA (2001)

Oil - proved reserves:28.45 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:9.9 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:9.9 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:150.3 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance:$393 million (2003)

Exports:$6.713 billion (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood (2001)

Exports - partners:
US 23.8%, Germany 13.7%, UK 10%, France 5.8% (2003 est.)

Imports:
$9.459 billion (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement (2000)

Imports - partners:India 15.6%, China 13.6%, Singapore 9.5%, Japan 6%, Hong Kong 4.9% (2003 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:$2.624 billion (2003)

Debt - external:$18.06 billion (2003)

Economic aid - recipient:$1.575 billion (2000 est.)

Currency:taka (BDT)

Currency code:BDT

Exchange rates:taka per US dollar - 58.15 (2003), 57.888 (2002), 55.8067 (2001), 52.1417 (2000), 49.0854 (1999)

Fiscal year:1 July - 30 June

Worst of economic crisis over for Dubai

Dubai's ruler insists his Gulf emirate has recovered from the worst of the fallout from the global economic crisis and has also defended the grandiose vision of the formerly booming city state.

"We have overcome the crisis with the least amount of losses," Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed al-Maktoum, who is also United Arab Emirates prime minister, told Dubai's first e-press conference.

"For us in the United Arab Emirates, I can safely say that we have succeeded in containing the risks of the global financial crisis in record time," said Sheikh Mohammad. His answers to journalists' questions were posted on the website www.uaepm.ae on Saturday.

Sheikh Mohammad put the recovery down to "the additional liquidity that the Abu Dhabi government pumped into the Emirates' banks" and the bond issuance of 20 billion dollars.

However, Sheikh Mohammad acknowledged that economic growth in the UAE would probably fall to around three percent in 2009, down from 7.4 percent last year. But he ruled out introducing income tax.

On the world crisis, he said: "I think the panic phase is over now, especially after the intervention of governments in many major countries to regulate financial and banking sectors, and the allocation of large sums of money to revitalise their economies." As for Dubai itself, Sheikh Mohammad shrugged off comments that "the bubble" had burst on its dazzlingly rapid development. "I keep hearing the expression of 'the bubble' for the past couple of decades. In my opinion, this bubble is found only in the minds of those who often keep repeating it and do not know its meaning," he said.

Sheikh Mohammad also brushed aside a spate of negative articles in the international media.

"The stereotypes are being brought up. It seems that any successful Arab model in economic development invites such negative treatment in the international media," he said.

The architect of Dubai's emergence on the world stage as a regional business, IT and leisure hub defended the emirate's achievements. "We are not growing in order to be a model for its highest building in the world, best airport, and most luxurious hotel, and the largest seaport and man-made islands," he said.

"The Dubai model is beyond that... Dubai is an Arab city with scarce natural resources but with a clear vision of comprehensive development and social needs," he said.

It has "succeeded through investments in human resources, its unique geographical location and trade expertise."

Govt plans to set up new industries, reopen all closed mills, factories: Barua

Industries Minister Dilip Barua on Sunday said the government would reopen the Chittagong Chemical Complex (CCC) on April 24 as part of the government's plan of reopening all mills and factories closed down during the previous governments.He mentioned that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her recent meeting at the Industries Ministry directed for taking steps to reopening the closed down mills and factories across the country for the greater interest of nation and workers.

The Industries Minister made the announcement while speaking as chief guest at the National Representative Conference of Building Construction Workers Union, Bangladesh (BCWUB) held at Tajul Auditorium of Moni Singh-Farhad Trust Building in city's Purana Paltan.

Barua said: "It became a common culture in Bangladesh during the tenure of BNP-Jamat alliance government to shut down mills and factories but the present government wants to introduce a new culture of establishing new industries and reopening the closed mills and factories."

Alleging that an evil force is trying to create anarchy in the country, he urged all to work together for economic development.

"The present government headed by Sheikh Hasina is a pro-people and workers-friendly government. Let's face all conspiracies jointly," he said calling upon all to strengthen the hands of Sheikh Hasina for the real development of the country.The Industries Minister said workers had long been engaged in movement in support of their various logical demands but such demands were never met and the workers are still helpless. "Even after 38 years of independence the workers are deprived of their rights. They can't bear their children's educational expenses, even they can't ensure necessary treatment of their dependants," he said.

Barua said the workers of the building construction sector have also a role to play in translating the dream of 'Digital Bangladesh'.

Earlier, the BCWUB placed a set of demands to the government that includes introducing rationing for them, construction of Building Construction Workers Colony by the government at district and upazila levels and proper healthcare services.Bangladesh Trade Union Center (TUC) general secretary Dr Wazedul Islam Khan and poet Ruby Rahman MP also addressed the meeting, chaired by BCWUB president Rabiul Islam.

Google reports stronger profits

Google profits beat analysts' expectations

Google, the internet search engine, has announced strong results for the first three months of this year.

Net profit for the quarter was $1.42bn (£0.95bn), up 9% compared with the $1.31bn posted a year earlier.

Revenues came in at $5.51bn, 6% higher than for the same period last year but a decrease of 3% on the last quarter.

The results were better than many analysts had expected bearing in mind the recession in the US and the general downturn in advertising spending.

'Uncharted territory'

"Google had a good quarter given the depth of the recession," said Google chief executive Eric Schmidt.

"These results underline both the resilience of our business model and the ongoing potential of the web as users and advertisers shift online," he added.

Mr Schmidt did, however, admit that Google had been affected by the economic downturn.
It looks pretty good. Revenues are in line, which I think will actually positively surprise people
Richard FetykoMerriman Curhan Ford

"We are in uncharted territory economically and Google is, absolutely, feeling the impact," he said.

The strong results were largely due to Google.com, the company said. Google-owned sites generated revenues of $3.7bn.

This represents a 9% increase year-on-year.

Revenue from partner sites fell by 3%.

Revenues from outside the US totalled $2.88bn.The UK accounted for $733m.

'Positive surprise'

Mr Schmidt said that Google was well positioned with regards to the advertising slowdown that has hit many companies hard.

"Advertisers are still spending, but they are lowering their bids," said Mr Schmidt.

"The shift to online advertising gives us a big advantage and outpaces any losses from [falling] economic activity," he added.

Analysts agreed with this prognosis.

"As advertisers are getting better control of their budget and a better understanding of their business under these macro conditions, they are taking money away from newspaper and television and going back online to advertise, and Google gets a disproportionate part of the market," said Sameet Sinha at JMP Securities.

Mr Schmidt did sound a cautionary note when describing the second and third quarters as "seasonally weaker", but concluded optimistically that: "We are well placed for the recovery and will continue to invest for the long term."

The results were well received by investors.

"It was a good quarter. Revenues were in line with [Wall] street consensus," said Jason Avilo at Kaufman Bros.

Richard Fetyko at Merriman Curhan Ford said: "It looks pretty good. Revenues are in line, which I think will actually positively surprise people."