Yahoo’s revenue declined in the second quarter as the Internet company’s rates for online display ads plummeted by 24 per cent, it said on Tuesday.

The group’s net revenue, which excludes fees paid to partner websites, decreased 3 per cent year-on-year to $1.04 billion in the three months ended June 30th.

Yahoo said it has to sell fewer Alibaba Group shares than previously expected in the Chinese e-commerce company's market debut, helping to offset the . company's worse-than-expected results .

Shares of Yahoo rose 10 cents to $35.75 in after-hours trading.

The company said Alibaba agreed to its request to reduce the maximum number of shares it sells in the Chinese company’s upcoming initial public offering from 208 million to 140 million.

Yahoo, which owns a roughly 24 per cent stake in Alibaba, which is expected to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange later this year in what could be the largest ever US technology IPO.

Yahoo’s display advertising business fell 8 per cent to $436 million in the second quarter. The average price per ad decreased 24 per cent.

Reuters