Just a little over a week as head of Yahoo, and Carol Bartz has decided to offer some insight on what the company’s future plans might include. During a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, Bartz said she came with no preconceived notions and with no intention of selling the company.

 

Bartz ‘inherited’ a lot of pending issues with Yahoo, and as she herself admitted, these are fundamental issues that need to be addressed.

 

The economic slowdown has already taken its toll on many companies, and Yahoo was far from doing good. However, the company did better than analysts had predicted, with an adjusted operated cash flow just above the midpoint of guidance for the fourth quarter, as Bartz explained.

 

Yahoo reported revenues of $1,806 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, as well as a $542 million adjusted operating income before depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation expense. The cash flow from operating activities for Q4 was of $321 million, a 48 percent decrease compared to the same period in the previous year.

 

Bartz explained that despite the tough economic environment, the company has made significant investments while aggressively managing costs, leaving (them) better positioned to weather the economic downturn and emerge stronger when advertiser spending improves. We have work to do, but I am excited by Yahoo’s opportunities, and encouraged by the tremendous innovation and momentum I’ve seen since joining the company as CEO.

 

Yahoo announced on January 13 that Carol Bartz was the new Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors of the company. Bartz replaced Jerry Yang, who announced he would step down in November last year.