Baidu.com - China’s Leading Search Engine Unaffected by Recession

China’s Baidu.com says 1Q profit up 34.7 percent

BEIJING — Baidu Inc., which runs China’s leading Internet search engine, said Tuesday first quarter profit rose 34.7 percent from a year earlier on stronger online marketing revenue despite China’s economic slowdown. Profit rose to 198.5 million yuan ($29 million) or 5.22 yuan (76 U.S. cents) per share for the three months ending March 31, the Beijing-based company announced. Revenue jumped 41.1 percent to 810.7 million ($118.3 million).

“Our balanced approach to controlling costs allowed us to maintain healthy margins even as we continued to invest in important initiatives,” chief financial officer Jennifer Li said in a statement.

Baidu forecast second-quarter revenue of 1 billion yuan ($157 million) to 1.1 billion yuan ($161 million). Analysts are expecting 999 million yuan ($145.9 million).

The company’s American Depositary shares jumped $8.33, or 3.7 percent, to $233.19 in after-hours trading. The stock had closed the regular session up $7.32, or 3.4 percent at $224.86.

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Baidu Inc.: www.baidu.com