Shares jumped 23 percent to $1.35 on the news.
Ask Jeeves expects to earn $1 million, or 2 cents on a pro forma basis, on sales of $21 million in revenue in this quarter. The company did not disclose whether it would be profitable on a GAAP basis, however.
In an interview with CBS.MarketWatch.com, Ask Jeeves CEO, Skip Battle said "We're delighted to be leaving the non-cash neighborhood and reap the rewards of entering this new neighborhood," Paid listings and premier advertising placement are predicted to drive sales.
But of course, Google's in there too.
Paid-listings revenue is primarily made up of the fees Ask Jeeves receives from Google's advertiser base distributed on the Ask Jeeves site.
Paid-listings accounted for 37 percent, or $6.6 million, of the company's total $17.8 million in sales generated in the third quarter.
In mid-July, Ask Jeeves Web Properties inked a deal with Google to use the search engine's paid-listings service. Under the agreement, Ask Jeeves and Google will share the more than $100 million in estimated revenue to be generated from Google's advertisers on Ask Jeeves' search sites over three years.
Ask Jeeves had a partnership with Overture but was seeking better terms. "Google was much more flexible," said Battle. The company gave a "bigger piece of the pie," he said. Asked whether Ask Jeeves was concerned that Google could take away users, and Battle said: "We're comfortable with the experience we're giving to our users. They're loyal, and all Google is doing is giving us a feed for the paid listings, they just run paid-listings, they don't get query data."
What's more, Google had no particular desire to advertise on Ask Jeeves' site, Battle said.
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