Portal operator Mail.ru’s half-year profit has more than doubled to $85.5 million, underlining it as one of the most successful in the high-growth Russian market.
The group – which also owns ICQ, Odnoklassniki and a stake of Vkontakte – saw slower revenue growth – up 66 percent to $228.2 million.
But its profit margin jumped from 39.2 percent to 50 percent after it managed to save a heap of money on server hosting, rental and headquarters.
Mail.ru also says the results “validate the group’s strategy of integrating its services: email, social networks, instant messengers and online gaming”. So, in the rest of the year, it will try to save more money through further integration and by growing in both Russia and the former Soviet states.
The group issued heightened full-year guidance of 50 percent revenue growth.
During the half-year, Mail.ru bought another 7.55 percent of Vkontakte for $111.7 million, taking its stake to 39.99 percent and opened its eleventh Russian sales office. Its Odnoklassiniki grew its audience by 44 percent over the year (source: TNS). Mail.ru’s own June audience was 27.5 million.