Blinkx swings to FY profit as revenue doubles
Wed May 18, 2011 2:34am EDT
* Pretax profit $6.1 mln vs loss of $8.9 mln last year
* Revenue rises 96 percent to $66.1 mln
May 18 (Reuters) - Video search-engine operator Blinkx swung to a full-year profit, boosted by higher advertising revenue as it continued to increase its audience.
Online advertising has, for some time, been the fastest growing segment of the overall ad market, with online video ads running before or after video clips achieving the highest prices from marketers.
The company, which indexes audio and video content, and makes it searchable and available on demand, added new clients such as Kleenex and American Express Co during the year.
Pretax profit was $6.1 million for the year ended March 31, compared with a loss of $8.9 million last year.
Revenue almost doubled to $66.1 million.
The company recently bought online ad network Burst Media for $30 million to help build personalised online TV channels that should command premium rates from advertisers.
Shares in Blinkx, which have gained 28 percent since the company's trading update in April, closed at 142.5 pence on Tuesday on the London Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Purwa Naveen Raman in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel)
