Huge growth in mobile business for Infospace
Revenues up by nearly $65 million
Infospace has posted huge growth in its mobile business for the year ending December 31, 2005, with revenues up by nearly USD 65 million over last year's figures.
Revenues for the period stood at USD 157.4 million, up from USD 92.5 million the year before - an increase of more than 70 per cent. Infospace attributed the rise to "an increase in sales of our media download products, such as ringtones and graphics and, to a lesser extent, sales of games."
However, the company's content and distribution expenses were also up to 145.4 million, equivalent to 42.7 per cent of revenues. The figure for 2004 stood at USD 92.7 million (37.1 per cent of revenues).
Overall, the mobile arm of the business accounted for 46.3 per cent of Infospace's 2005 revenues - up from 37.1 per cent in 2004.
Infospace was established as an Internet search and directories company in 1996. The firm acquired US content provider Moviso in 2003, and has since secured a foothold in the mobile gaming market. Infospace now owns three mobile development studios - Atlas Mobile, which is based in the US, German studio Elkware, and IOMO in the UK.