AOL profits triple but traders are worried

AOL may have near tripled its quarterly profits but traders fear growth will fall when the Time Warner merger is completed. The world's leading ISP saw profit increase from $86 million to $224 million thanks to the growth in online shopping, rising advertising revenues and increased membership which now stands at 23 million. AOL has grown from making a $499 million loss in the 12 months ending June 1997 to profits of $92 million last year. Analysts reckon that growth in the merged AOL-Time Warner will be around 30 per cent rather than the 80 per cent AOL has enjoyed recently. ®