(Reuters) -China’s biggest internet search engine provider Baidu on Tuesday beat third-quarter revenue estimates, helped by stronger advertising income as the Chinese economy shows signs of recovery.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 34.45 billion yuan ($4.72 billion), compared with analysts’ estimate of 34.33 billion yuan, according to LSEG data.
China’s economy is set to grow 5.4% this year, the International Monetary Fund said earlier this month, making an upward revision to its earlier forecast of 5% growth. This has prompted companies to spend more on consumer advertising online.
U.S.-listed shares of Baidu were marginally higher in pre-market trade.
Baidu’s online marketing revenue rose 5% in the third quarter to 19.7 billion yuan.
During the quarter, Baidu reported net income of 6.68 billion yuan, reversing a loss of 146 million yuan for the same period last year.
The company reported an adjusted profit of 20.4 yuan per American Depositary Share (ADS), compared with a profit of 16.87 yuan per share a year earlier. This also exceeded analysts’ average estimate of 16.55 yuan per ADS, according to LSEG.
($1 = 7.21 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru and Yelin Mo in Beijing; Editing by Varun H K and Miral Fahmy)
