AOL 1Q Revenue Rises 8% On Higher Ad Sales

AOL (NYSE:AOL) reported first-quarter earnings Wednesday, with 8% revenue growth exceeding market expectations.

Revenue rose to $583 million, largely due to sales increases from ads sold on its electronic exchange, Adap.tv. Wall Street was predicting $578 million in revenue.

Due to restructuring charges, AOL saw its net income fall to $9 million, or 11 cents per share, down from $26 million, or 32 cents, in the same period the year before.

“The first quarter marks the fifth consecutive quarter of consumer, revenue and adjusted (operating income before depreciation and ammortizaton) growth,” said Tim Armstrong, AOL's chairman and CEO, in a statement. “AOL’s investment in global media and technology platforms is allowing AOL to compete on a global scale.”

AOL said Tuesday that it purchased marketing analytics company Convertro for $101 million. AOL purchased Gravity for $90 million in January, to personalize ad content.

AOL has pursued a content strategy and owns prominent news blogs Huffington Post and TechCrunch. FOX Business reported that AOL had acquisition conversations with Business Insider late last year, but talks broke down.

AOL previously owned hyperlocal news service Patch but reduced its stake through a joint venture established with Hale Global. AOL laid off hundreds of Patch employees this quarter.

Shares are down 7% in the past three months, closing Tuesday at $43.90.