Baidu profits up – Google search share down

Baidu (BIDU.NASDAQ), which runs China’s most popular search engine, beat analyst estimates with its second-quarter profits thanks in part to enduring weakness of competitor Google (GOOG>NASDAQ), Reuters reported. Baidu doubled net income in Q2 to US$123.6m, beating the analyst consensus of US$104.6m. Baidu has won new advertisers thanks to Google’s decision to shut its mainland-based search engine and redirect users to its Hong Kong servers to avoid requirements that it censor search results and to protest alleged hacking of its servers in China. Baidu also outperformed rivals like Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) and Alibaba.com (1688.HK). Baidu has also boosted revenues through a new advertising system called Phoenix Nest. Google’s share of the mainland online search market dropped from 27.3% from 29.5% while Baidu’s share rose to 70.8% from 67.8% three months earlier.