14 DAY TRIAL // Google doesn't want to get out of China, definitely not altogether, and China doesn't really want Google out either, despite the tough face the officials are putting on, but there's at least one company who would be more than thrilled at the prospect, Baidu, the largest search engine in China. The company has just announced its fourth quarter results and the numbers speak for themselves, profit is up almost 50 percent and revenue almost 40 percent. Imagine what it would be if Google.cn was suddenly out of the picture.
"The year ended on a positive note as Phoenix Nest's [Baidu's revamped ad network] better than anticipated performance helped us to exceed expectations for the fourth quarter," Robin Li, Baidu's chairman and CEO said. "This encouraging performance is a reflection of Baidu's relentless focus on execution and innovation. With a solid base of users and customers, our foundation is stronger than ever and we will continue to drive innovation to capture market opportunities ahead."
The most impressive bump, and arguably the most important for the company, was the 48.2 percent year over year rise in net income which came in at $62.7 million for Q4 2009. Considering that Baidu is the lead search engine in China with a very comfortable gap between Google.cn, roughly 60 percent compared to Google's 35 percent with other competitors virtually non-existent.
Revenue in the fourth quarter was up 39.8 percent from a year ago, reaching $184.7 million. For the entire year, Baidu brought in revenue of $651.6 million, a 39.1percent increase over 2008, and net income was at $217.6 million, 41.7 percent over the previous year. Its good fortunes may continue into 2010. If Google leaves the Chinese search market, which it's very likely to do, Baidu will become the only game in town and, while it may not be able to get all of Google's lost market share, Baidu will have a virtual monopoly in the country.