Blinkx quadruples first-half profits

First-half pre-tax profits were in fast-forward at online video specialist Blinkx, despite strong comparatives. The AIM-listed company lifted revenues 36% to £111.6m, with headline pre-tax profits increased fourfold to £10.8m but if exceptional costs are ignored they rose 93% to £15.2m.Chief Executive Officer Brian Mukherjee hailed an "exciting" first half, where performance benefitted from the success of strategic initiatives, realignment of internal resources, acquisition of the Grab Media platform and the launch of several product lines.Strategy has evolved from video search, to video discovery and, most recently, to video syndication though the release of its own video syndication platform, blinkx Video Advantage, which has enabled the company to serve a greater number of advertisements to a wider audience at better monetisation rates."The online advertising industry continues to experience robust growth, within which video advertising remains the fastest growing segment," noted Mukherjee. Shares in Blinkx were up 10.7% to 186p at midday on Tuesday.OH