• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, November 1, 2006

IAC/InterActiveCorp. on Tuesday reported that third-quarter profit increased 10% on a modest rise in retailing and strong growth in ticketing. Diluted earnings for the quarter were 24 cents per share, compared to 20 cents per share a year ago, and revenue increased by 11% to $1.6 billion from the year-earlier period.

IAC Search & Media, which includes Ask.com, increased revenue by 34% over last year, "primarily due to an increase in queries and higher revenue per query across most properties," according to a company statement.

"Ask.com continues to grow queries at a rapid pace in the U.S., and declines at Ask in the UK, while still disappointing, are showing signs of lessening," Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Tom McInerney said in a conference call with analysts.

Ask.com in September garnered 5.8% of search queries, displacing AOL--which drew 5.6%--as the fourth most popular search engine. Google ranked first, with 45.1%, followed by Yahoo (28.1%) and Microsoft (11.9%), according to comScore.

The company said Citysearch also delivered another strong quarter of revenue growth. Doug Lebda, president and chief operating officer, added that Citysearch is boosting its sales team. "We are investing to expand the merchant base, by aggressively growing the City Search sales force, and launching a self-enrollment program to make it even easier for merchants to sign up and receive leads," he said.