Sohu breaks quarterly revenue record

Sohu's profits surged to $40.2m on strong advertising performance

Chinese internet firm Sohu.com hit a revenue record of $102m in the second quarter, the company has reported.

The portal operator plans to spin off its online games division as a separate company with a potential IPO in the future.

Sohu's profits surged to $40.2m on strong advertising performance ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

"Sohu achieved another milestone in the company's history with total revenues exceeding $100m which further demonstrated Sohu's leadership position in the China internet space," said chairman and chief executive Charles Zhang.

"This was driven by our strong media influence, premier content offerings and increased popularity of products such as Sohu Blogs and Sogou Pinyin, and the growth of our online games business."

Brand advertising revenues were up 57 per cent year-on-year to $41.7m, according to chief marketing officer Belinda Wang.

"The growing momentum reflects the overall expansion of the Chinese internet market, an increased shift in advertising budgets from offline to online, and the robust pace of advertising spend leading up to the Olympic Games," she said.

"It also reflects our significant traffic increase, which further enhances the overall effectiveness of advertisers' marketing campaigns on the Sohu platform."

The company anticipates revenue to grow to between $112m and $116m in the third quarter.

"We expect that penetration of the internet in China will be escalated to an even higher level with the Olympic Games," said Zhang.

"Combined with our technological advancements and portal strength, this will help us continue our success for the remainder of 2008 and beyond."