Yahoo unveils ambitious 3-year financial plan

Computerworld - Yahoo Inc. today released a three-year financial plan that says the company will roughly double its operating cash flow from $1.9 billion to $3.7 billion and generate $8.8 billion in revenue, excluding costs, in 2010.

Yahoo executives first presented the plan to the company's board of directors in December, before Microsoft Corp. had made its unsolicited $44.6 billion takeover offer, according to a statement.

Yahoo said its investor presentation supports the board's unanimous decision to reject Microsoft's offer on the grounds that it substantially undervalues the company.

In the plan, Yahoo also reaffirmed its outlook for the first quarter of 2008 and for the full year, saying it expected an additional $1.9 billion in revenue from online/display advertising as well as an additional $1.4 billion in added search revenue.

"Yahoo is positioned for accelerated financial growth -- we have a powerful consumer brand, a huge global audience and a highly profitable operating model," Jerry Yang, the company's co-founder and CEO, said in the statement.

The board and the company's management said they will continue to work to maximize shareholder value.

"Yahoo's investor presentation also reiterates its principal strategies, which are to enhance an already strong position as a leading starting point for users of the Internet and to be a 'must buy' proposition for the most online advertisers," the company said.

Yahoo said it is making improvements to its search advertising platform and developing a new ad platform that's designed to simplify the buying and selling of online advertising.

In addition to Yahoo's projected operating results over the next three years, the company said its strategic assets in Asia, its strong cash position, and its leadership positions in mobile Internet and emerging markets, combine to create "significant equity value."

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