Baidu 2Q profits surge 45%

China’s most popular search engine operator Baidu posted a 45% year-on-year increase in second quarter profits on the back of strong advertising revenues, Bloomberg reported. Net income increased to US$56.1 million and sales rose 37% year-on-year to US$161 million, beating analysts forecasts. Analysts said that Baidu is benefitting indirectly from the stimulus package as companies marketing goods and services needed for infrastructure projects purchase ads. Baidu predicted third quarter sales of up to US$190 million, also exceeding analysts forecasts. Baidu’s share of the Chinese search engine market rose to 74.1% from 73.1% a year earlier. Google’s share climbed more quickly, to 20.9% from 18.7%.