Baidu Q2 profits surge 70 pct on booming ad sales

Beijing, July 24 (Xinhua-ANI): Chinese Internet search giant Baidu Inc. said Tuesday its second-quarter profits jumped 69.6 percent year on year due to stronger advertising sales.

The company's profits rose to 2.77 billion yuan (436 million U.S. dollars) in the second quarter. Revenues jumped 59.8 percent year on year to 5.46 billion yuan, according to a statement posted on the company's website.

Baidu's search advertising surged to 5.45 billion yuan, accounting for more than 99 percent of its total revenues.

The Beijing-based company maintained its lead in the country's search market, holding a 78.6-percent market share in the second quarter, followed by Google China and Sogou, according to a report from Analysys International, a domestic advisor on technology, media and telecom industries.

Baidu forecast its third-quarter revenues to reach between 6.25 billion yuan and 6.41 billion yuan, up 49.6 to 53.5 percent from one year earlier. (Xinhua-ANI)