Ask.com and Citysearch parent company IAC released its third quarter earnings for 2009. Overall revenues came in at $336.6 million down 9% from the same quarter last year. However, profit for the quarter came in at $21.7 million, up from the $14.8 million loss suffered last year. The profits are largely due to the sales of OpenTable and Match Europe.
IAC's Media and Advertising Division, which contains Ask, Dictionary.com and Citysearch (among others), brought in $172.3 million in revenues, down 11% from last year.
Ask.com has seen a decrease in revenue per query. IAC attributed the decline to an improved search experience where searchers are using fewer clicks to find what they need. Another factor was a decrease in cost-per-click.
Citysearch also saw a decrease in revenue per query. This was attributed to a difficult display advertising environment.
