Qihoo 3Q Profit Rises - Update

(RTTNews) - Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. (QIHU), a China-based provider of Internet and mobile security products, Monday reported an increase in profit for the third quarter as revenues doubled. Moving ahead, the company expects fourth-quarter revenues above current Street estimates.

Beijing, China-based Qihoo's third-quarter profit rose to $57.7 million or $0.44 per ADS from $44.5 million or $0.35 per ADS a year ago.

Excluding items, adjusted net income for the third quarter improved to $89.5 million or $0.63 per ADS from $61.5 million or $0.47 per ADS last year. On average, 10 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.61 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one time items.

Revenues for the third quarter surged 100.3 percent to $376.4 million from $187.9 million last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $365.35 million for the quarter.

Online advertising revenues jumped 67.2 percent to $201.9 million, while internet value-added service revenues, which are mainly derived from game platform operations, surged 157.7 percent to $172.8 million.

Total monthly active users of Qihoo 360's PC-based products and services rose to 495 million from 465 million last year. Total smartphone users of Qihoo 360's primary mobile security product reached a record of 673 million, compared to 408 million a year ago. Average daily unique visitors to the 360 Personal Start-up Page and its sub-pages were 129 million, up from 126 million last year.

Chief Executive Hongyi Zhou said, "Not only did we maintain our leadership position in key PC-related product categories during the quarter, but we continued to make a significant transition to the important mobile Internet market."

Looking forward to the fourth quarter, the company expects revenues in the range of $410 million to $415 million. Analysts currently expect revenues of $405.08 million for the quarter.

QIHU closed Monday's trading at $69.46, up $0.10 or 0.14%, on the Nasdaq. The stock, however, dropped $0.21 or 0.30%, in the after-hours trade.