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WASHINGTON: Chinese Web search giant Baidu, which stands to potentially benefit if Google pulls out of China, posted a nearly 50 per cent increase in quarterly net profit on Tuesday on sharply higher revenue.
The Nasdaq-listed Baidu said net profit rose 48.2 per cent in the fourth quarter to US$62.7 million while revenue increased 39.8 per cent to US$184.7 million.
For the fiscal year which ended on December 31, Baidu reported revenue of US$651.6 million, up 39.1 per cent from 2008, and a net profit of US$217.6 million, an increase of 41.7 per cent over 2008.
Earnings per share of US$1.80 and fourth-quarter revenue of nearly US$185 million both came in higher than expected by Wall Street analysts, who had forecast US$1.68 and revenue of US$180 million.
"With a solid base of users and customers, our foundation is stronger than ever and we will continue to drive innovation to capture market opportunities ahead," Baidu chairman and chief executive Robin Li said in a statement.
Baidu said it had about 223,000 active online marketing customers in the fourth quarter of 2009, an increase of 13.2 per cent from a year ago.
Baidu accounted for 58.4 per cent of China's search engine market in the final quarter of last year, followed by 35.6 per cent for Google China, according to Internet research firm Analysys International.
The company could stand to increase its share further if Google is forced to shut down its Chinese search engine, Google.cn, over its refusal to continue to censor Web results.
Google said last month that it may abandon Google.cn and possibly leave the country altogether over what it called "highly sophisticated" cyberattacks by China-based hackers.
Baidu shares lost 1.85 per cent to US$435.01 on Wall Street on Tuesday but were trading 9.10 per cent higher at US$474.60 in after-hours electronic trading after the company's earnings were announced.
- AFP/sc
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