Baidu sees strong earnings growth

Baidu (BIDU.NASDAQ) saw its profits surge 70% on increasing revenue in the second quarter, The Wall Street Journal reported. The internet-search giant reported a profit of US$436 million, up from US$255 million in the previous year, despite an increase in costs. Revenue grew 60% to reach US$858.8 million, exceeding analyst expectations. Overhead costs increased 56% in the last quarter, while R&D expenses grew 83%. Following Google’s (GOOG.NASDAQ) decision to switch its local search traffic to Hong Kong in 2010, Baidu has spearheaded the Chinese search market and has enjoyed strong revenue growth. “We are pleased to announce strong results for the second quarter despite macro headwinds and challenging comparisons with the same period last year. Our efforts to expand our customer base continue to make solid progress,” Chief Executive Robin Li said.