Baidu quarterly net profit surges 79 percent

By Eric Auchard

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - China's Baidu.com Inc (BIDU.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Wednesday reported a better-than-expected 79 percent surge in quarterly profit, while cautioning that its current quarter would be weaker amid heavy winter weather.

Reported profit for the fourth quarter blew past all forecasts by financial analysts, sending its shares up 7.7 percent in extended trade to $281, which built on a 6.4 percent rise during regular session Nasdaq trade ahead of the report.

Underlying its growth is the fact Baidu is the dominant provider of Web search services in a country soon to become the world's biggest Internet market by users.

But despite the nearly 15 percent gain in Tuesday trading overall, Baidu shares remain 28 percent below where they started the year, amid a sharp decline in global stock markets. The Chinese Internet darling more than tripled last year.

The Beijing-based company said fourth-quarter net income rose to 219.8 million yuan, or $30.1 million and 87 cents a diluted share, compared with 123 million yuan, or $15.7 million and 45 cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter.

Excluding one-time items, the company reported a profit of 92 cents per share in the latest quarter. The costs of Baidu's expansion from China into Japan cut reported profit by 10 cents per share, the company said.

Analysts had predicted a net profit, on average, of 71 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates. Excluding one-time items, the average forecast among analysts was 75 cents a share.

Revenue rose 125 percent to $78.3 million. Analysts targeted revenue, on average, of $77.2 million, according to Reuters Estimates. Forecasts ranged from $71.2 million to $83.3 million, putting revenue well within anticipated bounds.