Gains in mobile search business helped to boost net profit at China’s online search leader Baidu in the third quarter, the company said today.
Net profit rose by 27% from a year earlier to $631 million. Revenue climbed by 52% to $2.2 billion.
Beijing-headquartered Baidu said mobile traffic surpassed its PC traffic in the third quarter, and mobile business accounted for 36% of revenue during the period. The company counts tablet search as part of its mobile business.
Growth in mobile business has helped to drive Baidu’s Nasdaq-traded shares to record highs this year. They have gained 41% from a year earlier.
Baidu’s chairman Robin Li ranked No. 2 on the 2014 Forbes China Rich List published this week with an estimated fortune worth $14.7 billion, an increase of $3.6 billion from a year earlier.
Both No. 1 on this year’s list – Jack Ma from Alibaba Group – and No. 3 – Ma Huateng from Tencent – also came from the Internet business, making it the first time the top three members of the Forbes China Rich List made their fortune from the web.
China leads the world in the world in the number of Internet and mobile phone users, and brisk GDP growth has led to a boom in related businesses.
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