Business

IAC posts strong search, dating revenue growth

IAC/InterActiveCorp on Wednesday reported strong third-quarter revenue growth in its search and online dating units, but its bottom-line profit fell because of one-time tax gains from an acquisition in the year-earlier period.

The third quarter was marked by a flurry of deal activity by IAC, led by media mogul Barry Diller. The New York-based company acquired businesses including About.com and DateHookup as part of efforts to bolster its core match and search divisions.

IAC also said last week that it would shut the print operations of Newsweek Daily Beast, transforming one of the country’s most iconic magazines into a digital-only edition. Diller had suggested in July that IAC was considering plans to do away with the magazine’s print operations.

IAC, which consolidated Newsweek Daily Beast into its results in May, offered several fresh details Wednesday about the publication’s middling financial performance. Revenue in IAC’s media division grew to $52.7 million during the quarter, with the inclusion of the magazine, from $18.7 million a year earlier. But the publication remained a drag on profitability, as the unit’s operating loss deepened to $13.2 million from $2.8 million.

IAC’s media division, however, is much smaller than its search and match divisions, which provide the vast majority of its earnings. Revenue in IAC’s Match segment grew 35% to $178.2 million, boosted by the full quarter contribution of European dating site Meetic MEET.FR +0.94% . Meanwhile, revenue at the company’s search and applications division grew 43% to $370.2 million.

To read more, go to The Wall Street Journal