Directories group Yell today said it was firmly on track to meet full year expectations, after moving into profit in the third quarter.

The group said it made profits of £31.1 million in the nine months to December 31, against losses of £45.9 million last time.

Yell said strong earnings growth was behind the rise, particularly in its US business, where earnings before tax and other items increased by 32.6%.

Earnings were up 1.8% to £168.9 million in the UK, largely reflecting progress with Yell.com, the group said.

However, bottom line losses before interim dividends of £20.8 million widened to £80.2 million against £58.6 million last year.

Yell said the bulk of the deficit arose from the structure of the buyout of Yell from BT in 2001 and setting up the current capital structure.

Chief executive John Condron said: "This is another good set of results demonstrating Yell's continued growth in its markets."

Wednesday February 11, 2004