• February 24, 2005

FindWhat, a Fort Myers, Fla.-based search advertising network, Wednesday reported record earnings for the final quarter of 2004. FindWhat revenue in the fourth quarter of 2004 increased 179 percent over the same period last year--totaling $59 million, the highest in the company’s history. The company’s fourth-quarter EBITA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) totaled $11.5 million, a 94 percent increase over the same quarter in 2003. Full-year earnings also increased by more than twofold--revenue in 2004 was $169 million, an increase of 135 percent over 2003.

According to a FindWhat executive, the company’s earnings are the result of the success of the company’s growth strategy, which involved acquiring other businesses and increasing their global reach. In 2004, FindWhat merged or acquired four other companies--Miva in January 2004, Comet Systems in March, B&B enterprises in June, and Espotting in July.

--Shankar Gupta