This one slipped through the cracks amid our crazy conference week last week… Lycos Europe has recorded another big loss, and there is no buyer in sight for the ailing portal. The site lost €17.1 million ($21.5 million) in the nine months to September 30; that’s against a €44.1 million ($55.5 million) profit in the same period last year. The portal says “cost management will be further tightened in the fourth quarter” - and no wonder: overall income dipped, too, but only from €58.4 million ($73.4 million) to €46.9 million ($59 million), so operating costs are proving to be a big drain.

The JV between Bertelsmann and Telefonica’s Terra put itself up for sale in a strategic review in April and, despite some desperate attempts to link itself with AOL (NYSE: TWX) and German ad net Tomorrow Focus for €200 million ($251 million), there’s been barely a whiff of a potential buyer. Indeed, Telefonica (NYSE: TEF) filed a court complaint in Lycos Europe’s native Holland alleging that its management had not examined fully enough all options around selling the company.

In earnings, Lycos Europe said it “expects to conclude the strategic review process as planned in the second half of 2008”. Somehow, Lycos still figures as the 13th most-popular UK site, according to comScore, despite a brand name that’s vastly diminished since its ‘90s heyday. Lycos Europe said it would focus on launching new products, attract advertisers through behavioral targeting and better promote its shopping portal Decido.

Release.

• Telefonica Complains Lycos Europe Sell-Off Too Slow
• Earnings: Lycos Europe Freefalling En Route To Sell-Off
• Is Lycos Europe Any Closer To Finding A Buyer?