SAN FRANCISCO, US - STRUGGLING Internet pioneer Yahoo reported on Tuesday that its second-quarter profit slipped to 131 million dollars (S$178 million) and called on investors to have faith in better times ahead.

Yahoo's net income for the quarter ending June 30 excluding special items amounted to 10 cents per share, two cents below the consensus Wall Street estimate.

However, revenues for the freshly finished quarter were just shy of 1.8 billion dollars (S$2.44 billion), which is six per cent more than the California company's second-quarter revenues in 2007.

'Yahoo is executing against its strategy, and we believe is well positioned for long-term growth and maximizing stockholder value,' co-founder and chief executive Jerry Yang said.

'We are seeing validation that we have the right strategy as we continue to make transformational investments that position us to take advantage of pivotal trends driving growth on the Internet.'

Yahoo's quarter was marked by a failed courtship with Microsoft and a bruising battle with billionaire corporate raider Carl Icahn, who accused board members of botching talks with the US software giant.

Release of the earnings figures apparently buoyed Yahoo stock, which had sunk more than two percent during trading in New York through the day.

Yahoo stock inched back up nearly a percent to 162.16 dollars per share in early after-hours trading. -- AFP