SAN FRANCISCO: Yahoo on Tuesday reported profits soared to 542 million dollars in the first three months of the year and renewed promises to stockholders that the struggling US firm is bound for richer times.

The robust earnings report includes 401 million dollars the Internet giant took in from an initial stock offering by Chinese Internet firm Alibaba, in which it has a stake.

If the one-time influx of Alibaba cash is deducted, Yahoo's earnings are modest and far short of the blockbuster performance analysts believe is needed to fend off Microsoft's effort to acquire the Internet group.

"We believe we can significantly accelerate our revenue growth, return to our historically high margins, and double our operating cash flow by 2010," said Yahoo chief executive Jerry Yang.

"This quarter's solid performance underscores the fact that we are executing on that plan."

The profit amounted to 11 cents a share, better than the nine cents per share expected on Wall Street. - AFP/de