Sohu plays for profit

By Ding Yining | May 4, 2009, Monday |

Online Edition

SOHU.COM Inc said today its profit for the first quarter surged 87 percent from a year earlier with a strong performance from its online game business.

Profit in the first three months reached US$46.9 million, or US$1.2 per share, the company said in a statement on Monday. Total revenues added 36 percent year-on-year but down 5 percent from the previous quarter to US$115.7 million.

"The online game business continues to show strong growth momentum and this offsets the temporary impact on our portal business brought by the economic weakness in China," according to Charles Zhang, chairman and CEO of Sohu.

Online games contributed US$61.6 million to its total revenue, up 50 percent year on year, or 6 percent on a quarter-on-quarter basis. Revenue from brand advertising was US$39.1 million, down 13 percent from the previous quarter and up 18 percent from the same period last year.

Online games contributed US$61.6 million to its total revenue, up 50 percent year on year, or 6 percent on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

"We'll continue our efforts to make Sohu one of the most powerful media platforms and thanks to the rapidly growing Internet population we will strengthen our position as the leading domestic Internet company," Zhang added.

Changyou.com, the spin-off of the online game operation of Sohu, completed an initial public offering on April 7. The company raised US$120 million by selling 7.5 million American Depository Shares at US$16 per share.

The company reported a 50 percent increase of its active paying accounts to 2.27 million. The two massively popular multiplayer online role-playing games operated by Changyou, namely Tian Long Ba Bu and Blade Online, generated most of its revenue.

The company estimates its second quarter revenue will be between US$121 million and US$125 million and revenues from online games will be between US$63 million and US$65 million.

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Sohu plays for profit

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