FindWhat Posts Quarterly Profit

FindWhat.com (FWHT Quote) edged past estimates it supplied in early December, and said that an on-again, off-again merger was on again.

The pay-per-click search engine company -- a distant competitor to Yahoo!'s (YHOO Quote) Overture Services and Google, the paid-search advertising leaders -- reported $21 million in revenue for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31. That number was up 57% from the prior year and $700,000 ahead of the guidance it gave analysts Dec. 10.

Net income, based on generally accepted accounting principles, amounted to $3.5 million, or 15 cents per diluted share. That nosed past both the December guidance of 14 cents and the year-earlier figure of 14 cents, which reflected a lower tax rate. ...