• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, May 2, 2012

IAC/InterActiveCorp revenue from its online search business rose 47% to $343.2 million in Q1 2012, supporting a 91% rise in profit, according to the company's earnings report released Wednesday. Search includes Mindspark, a digital consumer products business consisting of our B2C operations, along with destination Web sites Ask.com and Dictionary.com, through which the company provides search and additional services; and Pronto, a comparison shopping engine.

The earnings release states "revenue reflects strong growth from destination websites and Mindspark's B2B and B2C operations. The revenue growth in destination websites reflects strong query gains driven primarily by increased marketing and content optimization. The growth in B2B was driven by increased contribution from both existing and new partners. The increase in B2C revenue reflects strong growth from existing and new products. Profits were favorably impacted by higher revenue and lower depreciation expense, partially offset by higher cost of acquisition."