Qihoo 360 Q4 Profit Rises, Results Top Estimates, Guides Q1 Revenues Above View

(RTTNews) - Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. (QIHU), a China-based provider of Internet and mobile security products, reported Thursday a profit for the fourth quarter that grew from last year, reflecting a two-fold revenue growth. Both adjusted earnings per share and quarterly revenues topped analysts' expectations. The company also provided revenue guidance for the third quarter, well above Street view.

"We are extremely pleased to report our twelfth consecutive quarter of robust growth and deliver another full year of substantial progress in operations. We continue to expand our leadership position in key product categories, while making significant inroads in new markets," Chairman and CEO Hongyi Zhou said in a statement.

Beijing, China-based Qihoo reported net income of $16.65 million or $0.13 per ADS for the fourth quarter, higher then $12.75 million or $0.10 per ADS in the prior-year quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted net income was $96.30 million or $0.70 per ADS, compared to $26.73 million or $0.22 ADS in the year-ago quarter.

On average, 13 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.43 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Total revenues for the quarter more than doubled to a quarterly record of $221.62 million from $102.95 million in the same quarter last year, and topped sixteen Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $209.73 million.

The company attributed the growth to strong performance in both online advertising and Internet value-added services, driven by strong user traffic growth and further penetration of performance based advertising on 360 Personal Startup Page.

Online advertising revenues climbed 112.9 percent, while internet value-added service revenues surged 124.4 percent from last year.

Total monthly active users of Qihoo's PC-based products and services reached a record 475 million in December 2013, compared to 456 million in the same period last year. Average daily unique visitors to the 360 Personal Start-up Page and its sub-pages were 1194 million in the quarter, compared to 91 million in the prior-year period.

Operating margin for the quarter contracted 680 basis pints to 4.0 percent from last year's 11.8 percent.

Looking ahead to the first quarter, the company expects revenues between $226 million and $228 million, while Street is currently looking revenues of $203.0 million.

"We are making proactive investments in product and technology development in order to strengthen our leadership position and expand our footprint, particularly in mobile Internet and search technology where we see tremendous opportunities for future expansion.," President Xiangdong Qi stated.

QIHU closed Thursday's regular trading at $121.53, up $4.85 or 4.16% on a volume of 2.88 million shares. However, the stock lost $2.23 or 1.83% in after-hours trading.