Web portal Sohu.com Inc said its net income fell in the third quarter on stock options costs, despite higher advertising and wireless revenue.

The Beijing-based company earned US$6.6 million, or 17 cents per share, down 18 percent from US$8 million, or 21 cents per share, during the same period a year ago. Excluding costs for stock-based compensation, income in the recent quarter was US$8.5 million, or 22 cents per share. Revenue rose 29 percent to US$35.4 million from US$27.4 million in the year-ago period.

Sohu is China's second-biggest Web business behind portal Sina.com Inc, as measured by advertising revenue, and ahead of Baidu.com, the country's most popular search engine.

The company's performance in its core business -- brand advertising -- helped it hit the higher than expected earnings. Sohu said brand advertising revenue grew 35 percent to US$21 million, exceeding its expectations. Sponsored search revenue fell 10 percent to US$2.9 million.

The company plans to launch a dedicated Olympic content channel next month and has sponsorship agreements with the NBA and its star Chinese player, Yao Ming. 

"To appeal to the increasingly sophisticated user base and China's growing online advertising market we continue to deliver premium, differentiated and exclusive content," said CEO Charles Zhang. "This strategy has been working well in extending our core advertising business."

Source:佚名