Scoot.com is a takeover target for its largest shareholder, Vivendi, analysts claimed yesterday, as the online publisher announced it would move into profitability next year.

Scoot.com released its third-quarter results yesterday, which saw losses grow from £13.9m to £19.9m. The substantial increase was blamed on a change in the group's pricing model for its directory service, which saw it shift from charging customers a fixed price to a variable fee.

The company said it would be in profit in 2001 - a year earlier than expected.

Robert Bonnier, the chief executive, said the firm's subscriber base had grown by 16% in the quarter and that he expected that rate to be higher in the present three-month period. An increase in sales staff led to a rise in the number of new subscribers.

The churn rate - the measure of Scoot.com customers who transfer to a competitor - fell from 9.6% to 8.4% during the same period.

Analysts welcomed the improving results but said the weak share price was making Scoot.com vulnerable to being mopped up by Vivendi. The French group recently increased its stake in Scoot.com from 11.5% to 22.4%.

Shares in Scoot.com rose by 2% to 127.25p yesterday.

"Scoot.com is a company with a history of underachievement," said Nick Bubb, an analyst at SG Securities. "Vivendi will buy it - or someone else will buy it". Mr Bonnier declined to comment.