China’s Qihoo 360 reported an on-year decline in net profit for the first quarter of 2013, as the Internet company invests heavily in new technology to better its search business and mobile Internet services.
Net profit stood at $5.6 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2013, compared with net profit of $14.1 million in the first quarter of 2012, the company said in an earnings statement released on Sunday.
However, Qihoo posted a 58.6 percent increase in revenue for the first quarter, which stood at $109.9 million, compared with $69.3 million in the first quarter of 2012.
The company has been spending as it strives to come up against Internet search rival Baidu. Qihoo started off with security software before branching out into operating a browser and just last summer, launching a search engine. Earlier this year, it stated its aim of achieving 20 percent market share in the Chinese search industry by the end of this year and 40 percent by 2015.
The Chinese search war is headed toward being waged on the mobile front, as Baidu aggressively invests in its mobile search product and Qihoo isn’t about to let up on its efforts too.
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“During the first quarter, we invested in product development and technology innovation in order to deliver best-in-class user experience, and expanded our sales and marketing efforts to strengthen our brand in mobile Internet and support search monetization,” Hongyi Zhou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Qihoo 360, said in the statement.
Qihoo reported that monthly active users of its products, which include security software, games, a browser and a web portal, reached a record 457 million in March 2013, compared with 411 million in March 2012.
Looking forward, Qihoo said it expects revenue of between $142 million and $144 million in the second quarter, which would be an on-year increase of 95 percent to 98 percent.
Headline image via 401 (K) 2013 / Flickr
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