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Directories group Yell expects to report full-year results in line with expectations after achieving a strong online performance for the first-half.

In a statement the British-based company revealed that its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) climbed to £319.8 million in the six months to September 30th.

The figure represents an 18.8 per cent rise on the adjusted earnings of £269.2 million reported for 2006.

British-based Yell also reported a 13.7 per cent increase in first-half revenues, which increased to £965.4 million over the year.

Within the UK, Yell's revenues increased three per cent to £362.3 million over the 12-month period. The company said growth was entirely driven by a 51.7 per cent increase in revenue recorded by its online service Yell.com.

The publisher of the Yellow Pages phone book emphasised that the strong online performance "more than offset" an expected 4.4 per cent decline in print revenues, which fell to £284.0 million.

Yell said the drop reflected a 4.7 per cent decline in the number of unique print advertisers over the first-half, with competition driving the number down to 224,000.

In contrast Yell.com's revenue grew by 51.7 per cent to £65.1 million over the six-month period. The increase was attributed to a 31.5 per cent rise in recognised revenue per average searchable advertiser.

The number of searchable advertisers using the site's services grew by 14.3 per cent to 208,000 during the first-half, while Yell.com's unique users also increased to 6.7 million, an 8.1 per cent increase year-on-year, during September.

In the US, Yell reported a 4.1 per cent increase in first-half revenue at a constant exchange rate, but sales dropped by 3.4 per cent in sterling to £439.7 million.

The group said it had faced strong competition on the other side of the Atlantic in printed directories, but still expected to achieve organic growth of around three per cent despite the heat being turned up by its rivals.

"We have made good progress in the first half of this challenging year and have strengthened the foundations of future growth across the group," said Yell chief executive John Condron, commenting on the results.

"We have once again demonstrated the power of our channel-neutral strategy with rapid growth in our online products," he added.