Baidu Revenues Leap 78 Percent in Q2

Chinese language search provider Baidu saw its revenues jump 78.4 percent in the second quarter of this year, compared with the same period in 2010, and attributed that growth to increasing demand for its advertising products.

The Google competitor took a total of RMB3.15 billion ($528.4 million) in the three months ending June 30, and reported a lift in profit of 91.2 percent, year-over-year, to reach RMB1.858 billion ($287.5 million).

Baidu currently dominates the Chinese search market, accounting for around 60 percent of queries, according to research firm Analysys International. Google, meanwhile, attracts an estimated 30 percent of searches in the market.

In a statement, Robin Li, Baidu chairman and CEO, said the company’s performance was aided by significant traffic growth and an improved ability to monetize its assets. “We were especially encouraged with the strong spending from large customers,” Li added.

Baidu’s impressive sales numbers demonstrate the opportunity for media and technology companies in China, driven by a growing Internet user base and massive population.

In recognition of the opportunity in the search space, Microsoft announced a partnership with Baidu earlier this month that will see its Bing search product power all English-language results on Baidu.com. Commenting on the deal, Baidu Asst. CEO Zhang Dongchen said the company currently responds to millions of English search queries on a daily basis.