Yahoo not to be 'left for the chickens'

Yahoo is not to be "pulled apart and left for the chickens," the company's new chief executive told analysts yesterday, after announcing a quarterly financial loss.

Referencing the 'will they/won't they' battle between Yahoo and bidder Microsoft, Carol Bartz said: "Did I come to Yahoo to sell the company? The answer is no."

She added: "This is not a company that needs to be pulled apart and left for the chickens."

Revenues slipped one per cent in the fourth quarter year-on-year, to $1.806 billion (1.265 billion), as Yahoo posted a fourth quarter operating loss of $278 million, compared to profit of $191 million last year. Despite this, Yahoo is generally perceived by analysts as weathering the economic turmoil.

For the year, Yahoo reported a profit of $424 million (296 million), down from last year's $660 million (461 million).

"The company also made important investments while aggressively managing costs, leaving us better positioned to weather the economic downturn and emerge stronger when advertiser spending improves," Bartz said, referencing previous job cuts and a drop in advertising.

Yahoo's rival and sometimes partner Google posted a jump in revenue of 18 per cent last week.