Post-Earnings Coverage - Baidu

LONDON, March 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

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Investor-Edge.com has issued free post-earnings coverage on Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU). On February 11, 2015, the company reported its financial results for Q4 FY14 and full year FY14 (period ended December 31, 2014). Click on http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Baidu&d=11-Mar-2015&s=BIDU to read our free earnings review on Baidu Inc. (Baidu). During Q4 FY14 and FY14, the company's total revenue surged 47.5% Y-o-Y and 53.6% Y-o-Y, respectively. Net income attributable to Baidu's shareholders increased 16.0% Y-o-Y in the reported quarter and 25.4% Y-o-Y for full-year FY14. CFO of Baidu, Jennifer Li, stated that robust mobile performance drove the company's strong top-line growth once again during the quarter and underpinned the reacceleration of its revenue growth in 2014. Our free coverage report can be accessed at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Baidu&d=11-Mar-2015&s=BIDU

Earnings Overview 

During Q4 FY14, Baidu's total revenues increased to RMB14.05 billion ($2.26 billion), with mobile revenue contributing 42% to total revenue, from RMB9.52 billion in Q4 FY13. The company's reported total revenue fell slightly below Bloomberg analysts' forecasts of RMB14.08 billion. Baidu's Q4 FY14 online marketing revenues surged 46.3% Y-o-Y to RMB13.85 billion ($2.23 billion). Baidu's active online marketing customers increased 16% Y-o-Y to about 523,000 in Q4 FY14. Further, the company's revenue per online marketing customer for Q4 FY14 increased 26.3% Y-o-Y to RMB26,400 ($4,255). Free research on BIDU can be downloaded in PDF format at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Baidu&d=11-Mar-2015&s=BIDU

For Q4 FY14, Baidu's operating profit grew 7.8% Y-o-Y to RMB2.95 billion ($475.80 million). Net income attributable to Baidu increased to RMB3.23 billion ($520.40 million) in Q4 FY14 from RMB2.78 billion in Q4 FY13. Diluted earnings attributable to Baidu per ADS (American Depositary Shares) stood at RMB9.01 ($1.45) in Q4 FY14 compared to RMB7.90 in Q4 FY13. Analysts from Bloomberg had expected the company to report net income attributable to Baidu of RMB3.52 billion, or RMB9.71 per diluted share, in Q4 FY14. Furthermore, the company's net operating cash inflow for the reported quarter was RMB5.34 billion ($861.00 million) compared to RMB4.11 billion in Q4 FY13.

In FY14, Baidu's total revenues increased to RMB49.05 billion ($7.91 billion), from RMB31.94 billion in FY13. Mobile revenues constituted 37% of total revenue. The company's FY14 total revenue came in slightly below Bloomberg analysts' forecast of RMB49.07 billion. The company's FY14 online marketing revenues surged 52.5% Y-o-Y to RMB48.50 billion ($7.82 billion). Baidu's active online marketing customers increased 8.0% Y-o-Y in FY14 to about 813,000. Moreover, Baidu's revenue per online marketing customer for the reported quarter surged 40.8% Y-o-Y to RMB59,400 ($9,574).

During FY14, Baidu's operating profit grew 14.4% Y-o-Y to RMB12.80 billion ($2.06 billion). Net income attributable to Baidu increased to RMB13.19 billion ($2.13 billion) in FY14 from RMB10.52 billion in FY13. Diluted earnings attributable to Baidu per ADS stood at RMB37.32 ($6.01) in FY14 compared to RMB29.93 in FY13. Analysts from Bloomberg had expected net income attributable to Baidu of RMB13.37 billion, or RMB38.15 per diluted share, in FY14. Furthermore, Baidu reported net operating cash inflow of RMB17.94 billion ($2.89 billion) in FY14 compared to RMB13.79 billion in FY13. Sign up and read the free analyst's notes on BIDU at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Baidu&d=11-Mar-2015&s=BIDU

As of December 31, 2014, Baidu had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of RMB57.67 billion ($9.30 billion).

Chairman and CEO of Baidu, Mr. Robin Li stated that the company has successfully transitioned from a PC-centric to a mobile-first company, positioning Baidu well for the next phase of its mobile opportunity. He also informed that in December 2014, search revenue from mobile surpassed PC for the very first time.

Jennifer Li stated that the investments Baidu made in mobile over the last two years have clearly paid off and set the stage for Baidu to capture an even larger market opportunity. She asserted that 2015 will be an important year for Baidu as it executes on its plan and invest for the next phase of mobile growth.

For Q1 FY15, Baidu expects total revenues to increase in the range of 33.2% Y-o-Y to 37.6% Y-o-Y, in an amount ranging from RMB12.65 billion ($2.04 billion) to RMB13.07 billion ($2.11 billion). Jennifer Li said that for the upcoming quarter, the company's guidance reflects the combined impact of both the late timing of Chinese New Year this year and mobile's growing traffic contribution, which monetizes at a rate lower than that of PC. Visit Investor-Edge and access the latest research on BIDU at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Baidu&d=11-Mar-2015&s=BIDU

Stock Performance  

On the day of the earnings release, February 11, 2015, Baidu's stock fell 2.17%, finishing the session at $214.67. Since then, the stock has moved both ways.  On the last close, Tuesday, March 10, 2015, the company's shares ended 0.58% lower at $210.39. Baidu's shares vacillated between $209.00 and $212.87 during the session. A total of 1.87 million shares were traded which was below their three months average volume of 3.00 million shares. Over the last one month and previous three months, the company's shares have lost 4.12% and 6.54%, respectively. However, the stock has gained 17.17% over the past one year. Shares in the company closed below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $217.68 and $213.11, respectively.

Sneak Peek to Corporate Insider Trading 

In the last one month Baidu has not reported any share transactions by insiders to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Complimentary in-depth research on BIDU is available at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Baidu&d=11-Mar-2015&s=BIDU

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