Baidu (BIDU.NASDAQ) booked more than a two-fold increase in fourth-quarter net profit on a jump in advertising sales, Bloomberg reported. The company booked a net profit of US$176 million against US$64 million the year before as sales increased 94% to US$370 million. Baidu has been expanding into several new business lines including online video and e-commerce, and is taking up greater market share as Google’s (GOOG.NASAQ) grip weakens. Analysts expect more users to switch to Baidu from Google, which should see the Chinese company’s share price increase over the coming year. Baidu accounted for 73.5% of China’s search engine market in the fourth quarter, up from 73% in the previous quarter.
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