Deadline AOL

Shares are up about 7% in pre-market trading after AOL reported a milestone that investors have been waiting to see: Its revenues have finally picked up as gains from ad sales outpaced the declines from its ancient (in Internet terms) Web subscription business. The company says that in Q4 it generated $35.4M in net income, +55.3% vs the period last year, on revenues of $599.5M, +3.9%. The top line number is well ahead of the Street’s expectation for $573.7M. Earnings at 41 cents a share matched the consensus forecast. AOL says that global ad sales were up 13% while subscription revenues fell 10%. The company had 2.8M domestic Internet subscribers at year end, -15%. Revenues at the Brand Group — which includes some of AOL’s most popular Web destinations including the Huffington Post, Moviefone, and its Patch local news sites — were up 4% to $213.2M, but increasing expenses resulted in a 34% decline in cash flow to $8.8M. Read More »

Here’s a friendly suggestion for the execs at AOL. Lay off the jargon and industry gobbledygook when you announce a change that’s supposed to clarify what your business is all about. The release this morning about the rebranding of the Advertising.com Group — making it AOL Networks — is a case in point. We’re talking about the operation with ad sales business Advertising.com, video site AOL On Network, and other ad services including goviral, ADTECH, and Pictela. So the AOL Networks name is more all-encompassing than Advertising.com Group? I think so. But someone at the company apparently wanted the explanation to sound more, well, pompous. The release says the new AOL Networks name “should help all stakeholders better understand the rich stack of assets and robust technology it brings together” and ”clearly represents the recognized cross-screen offerings across premium, programatic and performance advertising.”

Got it? No? Perhaps the quotation from AOL Networks CEO Ned Brody can help: “AOL Networks will Read More »

The stock is up about 7% in early trading. AOL reported net income of $20.7M, up from a $2.6M loss in the quarter last year, on revenues of $531.7M, unchanged. That’s a bit of a surprise: Analysts expected revenues to slip to $521.6M. Earnings per share of 22 cents also beat the consensus forecast of 17 cents. The company says that global ad sales were up 7% to $248.2M, although domestic display was down 3% to $122.5M. AOL crows that traffic at its Patch local news service was up 19% in September vs the same month last year to 11.9M unique visitors. In addition it says that the AOL On Network “grew rapidly” and is now the No. 2 video network by views. Read More »

NEW YORK– AOL (NYSE: AOL) today announced the appointment of Karen Dykstra as Chief Financial Officer. Dykstra will serve as a key member of the executive team in optimizing shareholder value by providing strategic leadership for the company’s financial functions including accounting, treasury, tax, financial planning and analysis and investor relations. She will be responsible for the company’s short and long-term financial objectives in support of the business strategy. Dykstra served on the company’s board of directors since December 2009, and fills the role vacated by Artie Minson following his promotion this June to Chief Operating Officer. Dykstra will be based in New York and report to Tim Armstrong, Chairman and CEO.

Read More »

Jolie Hunt will report to CEO Tim Armstrong in the newly created job of Chief Marketing and Communications Officer. She’ll oversee AOL’s global communications strategy, including internal and external communications; social media; corporate social … Read More »

NEW YORK– AOL today announced the promotion of Artie Minson, Jr. from CFO to Chief Operating Officer, overseeing AOL’s plan to form three operating units: AOL Membership Group, Content Brands Group, and the Advertising.com Group. This new role and operating structure will allow the company to go deeper on its focus on profitability, coordinated business execution, and resource allocation across its portfolio of brands and services. He will continue to report to Tim Armstrong, Chairman and CEO, AOL and the company is actively interviewing replacement candidates for AOL’s CFO position.

Read More »