CMGI Posts Profit From Retiring Loans

CMGI Inc., an Internet venture firm that owns Internet-search service AltaVista Co., had a fiscal second-quarter profit on a gain from retiring $220 million in loans from Compaq Computer Corp. Net income was $15.2 million, or 20 cents a share, in the period ended Jan. 31, the company said, primarily because of a $133-million gain from ending loans stemming from its 1999 purchase of AltaVista from Compaq. In the year-earlier quarter, CMGI had a loss of $2.54 billion, or $7.79 a share.