How the mighty have fallen—and continue to stumble. Web portal and online advertising company AOL formerly spun free from corporate parent Time Warner in late 2009, and under the leadership of former Google executive Tim Armstrong has been trying to carve out a niche for itself in online advertising and as a destination portal for premium content, music, and videos…but if the newly-free company’s first quarter results are any indication, AOL may face an uphill battle. AOL reports that first quarter revenues were down 23 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago, and an overall 19 percent drop in advertising revenue and a 28 percent drop in the amount of money it brought in from subscription services. Overall, AOL say $664.3 million in revenue for the quarter, down from $864 million at this time last year.
“AOL continues to make progress against our long-term objective of becoming an internet growth company,” said AOL chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong, in a statement. “Our results highlight the accomplishment of our first goal in AOL’s turnaround which was to significantly reduce AOL’s cost structure.”
AOL has been undergoing some substantial restructuring: the company announced it was laying off some 2,500 employees worldwide at the end of last year, and earlier this month made the decision to sell off social networking service Bebo…or, if a buyer can’t be found, simply shut it down.
