AOL Sees Lower Quarterly Revenue, but Increase in Display Revenue

AOL had lower revenue during the first quarter – compared to the same period last year – but the company tried to emphasize the positives.

Revenue during the first quarter was down 17 percent year-to-year, coming in at $551.4 million, according to SmarTrend, in a report carried by TechZone360.

"Today represents an important milestone in the turnaround of AOL as global display revenue grew for the first time since Q4 2007," Tim Armstrong, AOL’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement carried by TechZone360. "I am proud of the work completed thus far and we remain focused on accelerating our momentum through continued execution of our strategy to become the premier digital content company."

AOL earned $4.7 million during the first quarter, which is a decrease from $34.7 million earned by the company during the same period in 2010.

Revenue from online display ads increased 4 percent to $130.5 million during the first quarter.

The Associated Press notes it was the first time for AOL, since the fourth quarter of 2007, when display advertising increased from a prior year.

AOL's subscription revenue decreased 24 percent during the first quarter, to $215 million. The AP explains the decrease on AOL losing its “dial-up customers who upgraded to speedier Internet service from cable TV and phone companies.” As of march, AOL had 3.6 million dial-up subscribers, a 22 percent reduction from 2010.

In addition, monthly unique visitors to AOL Huffington Post Media Group dropped 3 percent to 100 million, according to The AP.

AOL acquired The Huffington Post in March.

In other recent AOL news, the AOL Huffington Post Media Group announced that: Sheila C. Johnson will be strategic advisor for Multicultural and African-American Initiatives; Derek Murphy was named general manager, Multicultural; and Patch, the network of over 800 local news and information sites will launch "Patch Latino" for communities with large Latino populations, according to TechZone360.