Yahoo Japan Surges as Profit Gets Boost from Ads, E-Commerce

Yahoo Japan Corp. posted its biggest increase since 2013 after quarterly earnings easily topped estimates as profit was bolstered by the strong performance in advertising and online shopping from mobile phones.

The company's shares jumped as high as 17% intraday in Tokyo trading, hitting their daily upward limit. As of 10:35 a.m., the stocks were trading 15% up, adding around $3.4 billion in market value.

Operating income during the December quarter came in at 51.8 billion yen or $460 million, against the estimated 49.5 billion yen. Sales hit 221.4 billion yen, easily topping the 219.5 billion yen.

The strong financial results come amid the company's continued expansion into the mobile platform, which represented for over half of the total advertising revenue for the first time in the company's history. Online shopping via its auction service platform also strengthened its performance, thanks to strict cost management and higher spending by users. Its financial services business also posted a stronger than anticipated performance.

Analysts, who initially had doubts regarding its future performance have changed their view on its potential and sees sustainable growth for the company. Analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald Naoshi Nema upgraded the price target from 400 yen to 660 yen per share.

News are provided by InstaForex