Qihoo 360 Profit Rises, Stock Up

(RTTNews) - Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. (QIHU), a China-based provider of Internet and mobile security products, Monday reported a surge in profit for the fourth quarter on sharply higher revenues as number of users increased, with both earnings and revenues trumping Wall Street expectations.

Moving ahead, the company projected its fourth-quarter revenues above current Street estimates. Shares of Qihoo gained six percent in the after-hours trade, following the news.

Beijing, China-based Qihoo's fourth-quarter profit rose to $76.8 million or $0.58 per American depositary share from $16.6 million or $0.13 per ADS a year ago.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter rose to $0.75 per ADS from $0.70 per ADS a year ago. On average, 10 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.71 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one time items.

Revenues for the fourth quarter surged 94.6 percent to $431.2 million from $221.6 million a year ago. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $417.4 million for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one time items.

Online advertising revenues jumped 70.8 percent to $221.6 million, while internet value-added service revenues, which are mainly derived from game platform operations, more than doubled to $167.4 million.

Total monthly active users of Qihoo 360's PC-based products and services rose to 509 million from 475 million last year. Total smartphone users of Qihoo 360's primary mobile security product reached a record of 744 million, compared to 467 million a year ago. Average daily unique visitors to the 360 Personal Start-up Page and its sub-pages were 132 million, up from 119 million last year.

Chief Executive Hongyi Zhou said, "As we continued to maintain our leadership position in key product categories, such as PC security, PC browser, mobile security and mobile app store, we made significant progress with new product initiatives, particularly those related to mobile Internet."

For the first quarter, the company expects revenues of $375 million to $380 million. Analysts currently expect revenues of $374 million for the quarter.

QIHU closed Monday's trading at $47.62, down $0.91 or 1.88%, on the Nasdaq. The stock, however, gained $2.90 or 6.09% in after-hours trade.