‘China’s Google’ Baidu Sees Revenue Jump 24 Percent

Baidu Inc., sometimes referred to as China's Google, reported a 24.3 percent jump in quarterly revenue as more advertising money flowed into its core search engine business.

The company's shares rose nearly 5 percent to $194.69 in extended trading on Thursday.

Baidu's online marketing revenue rose about 19.3 percent to 14.93 billion yuan ($2.31 billion) in the first quarter.

The company has been investing heavily to diversify away from search advertising, its mainstay so far, as customers increasingly use smartphones rather than personal computers for browsing the web.

Advertisers typically pay less for ads on mobile devices than for those on computers.

The net income attributable to Baidu fell about 19 percent to 1.99 billion yuan, while total revenue rose to 15.82 billion yuan. Baidu said its mobile business accounted for nearly two-thirds of the total revenue.

Excluding items, the company earned 6.80 yuan per American depositary share.

Total operating costs rose 28.8 percent to 13.61 billion yuan.

Baidu forecast revenue of 20.11 billion yuan-20.58 billion yuan for the second quarter.