Mobile ads fuel Yahoo growth

SUNNYVALE, Calif. - Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) is seeing dividends from its push into mobile content and services.

The Sunnyvale, California-based company on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter net income of $166.3 million, or 17 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 30 cents per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 29 cents per share.

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said the company's focus on mobile content is paying off. The company's mobile revenue in the fourth quarter rose 23 percent, to $254 million, compared with a year ago.

"These growth drivers have really focused our investments and energy on the future of digital advertising," she said in a statement.

The Internet media company posted revenue of $1.25 billion in the period. After subtracting Yahoo's advertising commissions, revenue was $1.18 billion, matching Street forecasts.

Yahoo shares have decreased 5 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has declined slightly more than 1 percent.

In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $47.99, a climb of 31 percent in the last 12 months. Yahoo's stock price was up 7.5 percent, to $51.62, in after-hours trading.

Separately, Yahoo said it will spinning off the company's remaining stake in China's Alibaba (BABA) in a move that will let Yahoo avoid paying billions in future taxes. A newly formed entity called SpinCo will inherit ownership of Yahoo's 384 million Alibaba shares when the tax-free spin-off is completed toward the end of this year.