Seach Engine Baidu Q1 Revenues Jump 41%

 

Baidu Inc., which runs China’s most popular search engine, said Monday its first-quarter profit grew, boosted by higher online marketing revenue.

The results sent the Beijing-based company’s American Depositary shares higher in after-hours trading.

For the three months ended March 31, the Baidu earned $26.5 million, or 76 cents per American Depositary share, up 24 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Excluding stock options expenses, the company earned 86 cents per share in the latest quarter.

Revenue jumped 41 percent to $118.6 million in the latest quarter.

Analysts, on average, were expecting a profit of 76 cents per share on sales of $116 million, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

Baidu forecast second-quarter revenue of $157 million to $161 million. Analysts are expecting $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.

4/27/2009 6:14 PM NEW YORK (AP)