Baidu, the giant of Chinese search, posted Q4 revenues that revealed an 82.5 percent increase over the year before. Revenues hit RMB4.474 billion ($710.9 million), while the quarter’s net income hit RMB2.054 billion ($326.3 million), a 76.9 percent increase from 2010.
The company’s total revenues for the year reached RMB14.501 billion ($2.304 billion), an 83.2 percent increase from 2010, while net income hit RMB6.639 billion ($1.055 billion), an 88.3 percent increase over 2010.
“I’m pleased to report that we closed the year with solid financial results as strong execution allowed us to benefit from exceptional market opportunities,” said Robin Li, chairman and CEO of Baidu. “Over the course of 2011, we made great progress on the Baidu Open Data and Open Application platforms, executed effectively on our landing page strategy, and rolled out several new initiatives, including our personalized homepage and the Baidu Yi mobile platform. In 2012, we will continue to innovate and to solidify Baidu’s central position in China’s Internet ecosystem.”
The company’s online marketing revenues for the fourth quarter increased 82.3 percent to the tune of RMB4.474 billion ($709.7 million), with 311,000 active online marketing customers, a 12.7 percent increase over the previous year.
The company holds 78 percent of the search market share in China, as of the third quarter of 2011.
“Driven by strong top line growth, Baidu enjoyed great margins in 2011, as we continued to aggressively invest in infrastructure and talent,” said Jennifer Li, Baidu’s chief financial officer. “Looking ahead, we will continue to focus on driving top line growth and invest at a robust pace to develop and capture long term market opportunities.”