The chairman of Yahoo Inc's board of directors voiced support for Chief Executive Carol Bartz, saying the company has a clear path forward toward accelerated revenue growth.

The hard won progress that we have made is why this board is very supportive of Carol and the management team, Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock said at the company's annual shareholder meeting on Thursday.

While Bostock described efforts to turn Yahoo around as a work in progress, he said the board was confident that Yahoo is heading in the right direction.

Shares of Yahoo were down 3.1 percent at $14.75 in midday trading.

Bostock's comments come more than two years into Bartz's tenure as CEO of the struggling Internet company. Bartz has cut costs and boosted profit margins but has made scant progress reviving revenue growth.

Yahoo's management and board have also been criticized by shareholders angry about how the company has handled its relationship with China's Alibaba Group, in which Yahoo owns a roughly 40 percent stake.

(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; editing by John Wallace)

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