Baidu, the largest global Chinese search engine (Nasdaq: BIDU), today released its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year up to December 31. It has reported a 136.1% increase in its total revenues in the fourth quarter of 2006 compared with the same period in 2005. The quoted figure is RMB 271.3 million (35.0 million USD).

"We're very pleased to see that marvelous achievements have been obtained throughout the previous year. We'll continue to focus on providing the best user experience, enhancing our brand recognition and further strengthening our leading position in the Chinese search market," stated Robin Li, Chairman and CEO of Baidu.

Total revenues in 2006 were calculated to be RMB 837.8 million (108.0 million USD), representing a 162.5% increase from 2005.

Online marketing revenues for the fourth quarter of 2006 reported a 141.4% year-over-year increase to RMB 269.8 million (34.8 million USD). The growth was mainly due to the increase in both the number of active online marketing customers and revenue per customer. Baidu had more than 108,000 active online marketing customers in the fourth quarter of 2006, representing a 5.9% increase from the third quarter. Revenue per online marketing customer for the fourth quarter increased to RMB 2500 (322 USD), a sequential increase of 7.3% and an increase of 41.0% from the corresponding period in 2005.

Operating profit for the fourth quarter of 2006 was RMB 101.7 million (13.1 million USD), representing a 615.3% increase from the same period in 2005.

In the fourth quarter of 2006, Baidu had a net income of RMB 122.8 million (15.8 million USD), representing a 400.2% increase from the same period in 2005. Basic and diluted EPS for the fourth quarter of 2006 amounted to RMB 3.65 (0.47 USD) and RMB 3.54 (0.46 USD) respectively.

Baidu currently expects to generate total revenues in an amount ranging from RMB 265 million (34.2 million USD) to RMB 275 million (35.4 million USD) for the first quarter of 2007, representing a 95% to 103% increase from the same period in 2006.

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