Qihoo 360 Technology Q3 Profit Surges; Projects Q4 Revenues Above Consensus

(RTTNews) - China-based internet company, Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. (QIHU), reported an increase in its third-quarter profit, mirroring higher revenues, due to continued momentum in both online advertising and Internet value-added services.

Net income attributable to Qihoo 360 was $44.5 million or $0.35 per ADS, compared with $12.9 million or $0.11 per ADS last year. Adjusted net income attributable to the company was $61.5 million or $0.47 per ADS.

On average, ten analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings per share of $0.37 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Total revenues for the quarter rose 124 percent to $187.9 million, from prior year's $84 million. Analysts expected the company to generate revenues of $181.73 million for the period. Online advertising revenues rose 107 percent to $120.7 million, primarily driven by increased monetization of user activities on 360 Search and Personalized Start-up Pages. Internet value-added service revenues, which are mainly derived from game platform operations, grew 163 percent to $67 million.

Looking ahead, for the fourth quarter, the company expects revenues to be between $206 million and $208 million. Analysts expect the company to report revenues of $203 million for the next quarter.

For the full year 2013, Qihoo expects revenues to be between $655 million and $657 million, while the Street expects the company to clock revenues of $649.25 million for the year.