AOL‘s global advertising business generated $319 million in revenue in the second quarter, a 5% increase compared with the prior year. The second quarter was the unit’s first period of year-over-year revenue growth since Q2 2008. AOL’s global advertising business contributed 59% of the company’s total revenue in the quarter.
The New York-based company reported $542.2 million in overall revenue in the quarter, a drop of 8% year-over-year, as well as a net loss of $11.8 million.
Global display advertising revenue rose 14% year-over-year to $137.6 million in Q2, while US display advertising increased by 16% to $126.8 million. However, the display ad gains missed analyst expectations, according to Reuters. In Q1, the segment recorded its first year-over-year revenue growth in three years.
“Revenue growth will precede profit growth, and we have revenue growth on the move,” said Tim Armstrong, chairman and CEO of AOL, on an earnings call.
Search and contextual advertising revenue fell to $87.8 million, a 21% drop from last year. The company attributed the decline to fewer US-based search queries and the sale of instant messaging client ICQ last July.
Revenue from subscriptions dropped 23% from last year to $201.3 million in Q2. Revenue per subscriber was down 3%, and the company’s US subscriber base dwindled by 21% to 3.4 million consumers.
