Shares in one-time dotcom darling, Lastminute.com, were up at lunchtime after the company reported improved revenues and lower losses.

Turnover for the three months to the end of March was just a smidgen under £6.8 million - up from £4 million during the same quarter last year.

Pre-tax losses fell by half from £10.7 million to £5.3 million during the same period.

Barely able to withhold their delight, execs at the Lastminute.com also reported that their UK
and French operations had reached operational profitability three months ahead of schedule.

This, they said, was a "key milestone to show that [their] business model continues to work well".

The travel Web site business with also has operations in the Germany, Italy and Sweden, among others, reported that the number of people purchasing last-minute items was up and that it now had more than five million subscribers.

At the end of March Lastminute.com had £34.7 million in the bank.

By early afternoon shares in Lastminute.com were up 2p (2.35 per cent) at 87.25p.

* Register Factoid: Did you know there is a sweet pea named after one of the prime movers and shakers at Lastminute.com? That's right, a variety called Martha Lane Fox is described as "very large [with] waved flowers of deep scarlet".