tradeologist
11 years ago
Barclays Upgrades SOHU to target $79
Last week's wider-than-expected quarterly loss for SOHU wasn't enough to keep Barclays from raising its price target on the stock to $79 from $73 ahead of the bell. On the charts, the equity has tacked on 40.4% year-to-date to linger near $66.46, but expectations remain low. At the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX, SOHU's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.06 ranks in the bearishly skewed 91st percentile of its annual range. Additionally, short interest rose 8.5% over the last two reporting periods, and now accounts for a healthy 6.9% of Sohu.com Inc's available float.
On Nov 1 Sohu.com Inc. reported earnings of 45 cents per share in the third quarter of 2013, which decreased 34.4% year over year and 19.1% on a sequential basis. Earnings including stock-based compensation comfortably beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a nickel.
Revenues
Revenues jumped 29.1% year over year and 8.7% sequentially to $368.3 million, towards the higher end of the management guided range of $358.0–$370.0 million. Revenues also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $364.0 million. The year-over-year increase was primarily driven by strong performance from the online advertising and online gaming business.
Online advertising revenues surged 56.5% year over year and 21.0% sequentially to $177.1 million. The year-over-year growth was primarily driven by strong performance from online video, Sogou, search and brand advertising.
Sohu video continued to maintain its dominant position, driven by a content portfolio that includes American television drama series, Japanese animation series, domestic variety shows and in-house programs.
During the quarter, Sohu Video streamed The Voice of China, which attracted significant traffic. The superior content portfolio helped video advertising sales to triple on a year-over-year basis and was up 60.0% from the previous quarter.
Sohu achieved significant growth in the mobile video segment as traffic increased massively in the third quarter. To-date, total number of active users for Sohu’s mobile applications reached 140 million.
Sogou revenues continued to grow in the quarter, up 53.0% year over year and 14.0% quarter over quarter to $57.0 million. The Sogou pinyin mobile version added another 30 million new users as monthly active users reached 180 million.
Search and Others revenues jumped 48.2% from the year-ago quarter and 13.3% sequentially to $46.2 million.
Brand advertising revenues grew 60.2% from the year-ago quarter to $124.8 million and were close to the higher end of management’s guided range of $120.0 million to $125.0 million. Revenues increased 24.5% sequentially, within management’s guided range of 20.0% to 25.0% growth. Brand advertising continued to benefit from strong traffic driven by an improving online video business.
eastunder
11 years ago
Sohu.com Inc : Sohu, Sogou and Tencent Jointly Announce Strategic Cooperation
09/16/2013 | 05:35am US/Eastern
BEIJING and SHENZHEN, Sept. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sohu.com Inc. ("Sohu", NASDAQ: SOHU), Sogou Inc. ("Sogou") and Tencent Holdings Limited ("Tencent", SEHK: 00700) jointly announced today the establishment of a strategic cooperation that will reinforce and strengthen Sogou as a leader in the large and fast-growing China market for search and internet services, particularly for the mobile platform.
To implement this strategic cooperation, Tencent has invested a net amount of US$448 million in cash in Sogou and merged its Soso search related businesses and certain other assets with Sogou. Immediately after the transaction, Tencent holds 36.5% of Sogou's equity capital on a fully-diluted basis, which could further increase to approximately 40% in the near future. Sohu, together with its affiliates, remains the controlling shareholder of Sogou, which will continue to operate independently as a subsidiary of Sohu. Dr. Charles Zhang, Sohu's Chairman and CEO, will remain as Chairman of Sogou. Mr. Martin Lau, President of Tencent, and Mr. Mark Ren, Chief Operating Officer of Tencent, have joined Sogou's Board of Directors. Mr. Wang Xiaochuan will continue to lead Sogou as a director and CEO.
Tencent and Sogou have agreed to jointly develop, cross-promote and integrate their respective products and services, while collaborating in areas of search technology, user insights and data sharing. Sogou's leading products, including Sogou Pinyin and Sogou Search, will have direct access to the vast user base of Tencent's online and mobile social communities.
"This partnership will immediately expand Sogou's market presence and significantly elevate its position in the highly competitive PC search market, and even more so in the rapidly evolving mobile search market," stated Dr. Charles Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Sohu. "Sogou remains a key strategic asset of the Sohu Group, generating synergies with our other businesses and creating significant value for Sohu shareholders."
"We are very excited about our combination with Soso and strategic partnership with Tencent. By accessing Tencent's strong innovation capabilities and deeply integrating with Tencent's core platform, Sogou will herald a new era of relentless innovation in the mobile world," said Mr. Wang Xiaochuan, CEO of Sogou. "For example, the optimization of Sogou Pinyin for Tencent's mobile IM services will deliver superior user experience, while the interaction between search and social network will bring a multitude of opportunities."
"We believe Sogou is the ideal partner for Tencent to further develop search opportunities within China. This reinforces our "open, win-win" philosophy of working with leading teams to create innovative products for users, and build a healthy, diversified ecosystem for the industry," said Mr. Ma Huateng, Chairman and CEO of Tencent. "We have high regard for Sogou's strong innovation capabilities and successful execution track record. We are confident that Sogou, after combination with Soso, will deliver superior search experiences to users on our social, browser and content platforms, especially on the mobile front."
Sogou has successfully executed a "Pinyin-Browser-Search" strategy and launched numerous innovative products that have gained popularity among users, including the No.1 Chinese character Pinyin input method on PC as measured by user base and on mobile devices as measured by user penetration, according to iResearch; the No.3 PC browser and No.3 PC search engine in China by page views, according to CNZZ.
The transaction signed and closed simultaneously on September 16, 2013. Credit Suisse acted as financial advisor to Sohu. Goldman Sachs acted as financial advisor to Tencent.
eastunder
11 years ago
Sohu climbed 3.2 percent to $68.51 in New York, poised for the highest close since October 2011. The shares have surged 34 percent since the end of April.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-18/shanda-surges-on-new-mobile-game-as-sohu-rises-overnight.html?cmpid=yhoo
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Charles Zhang said in a May 18 interview in Beijing that the company was seeking strategic investors for its Sogou search unit.
Acquisition Speculation
Sohu’s recent gains were stoked by speculation that Qihoo 360 Technology Co. (QIHU), owner of China’s second-biggest search engine, will acquire a controlling stake in Sogou, ABR Investment analyst Henry Guo wrote in a note yesterday.
“If a possible Qihoo/Sogou deal values Sogou at $1.2 billion or higher, a deal announcement could be a positive to Sohu shares,” he wrote.
Qihoo’s ADRs advanced 1.8 percent to a record $56.71. Sina Corp. (SINA), which runs a Twitter-like service in China, jumped 5.3 percent in a fourth day of gains to $63.35, the highest level since October. E-Commerce China Dangdang Inc. (DANG), the nation’s biggest online book retailer, advanced for a second day, rising 5.1 percent to a one-month high of $8.03.
LDK, the second-most indebted solar maker, added 4.7 percent to $1.77 in New York.
China will impose duties of between 2.4 percent and 57 percent on polysilicon, a raw material for making solar panels, imported from the U.S. and South Korea, according to a preliminary ruling posted on the Commerce Ministry’s website yesterday.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index in Hong Kong climbed 0.1 percent to a one-week high of 9,492.07, while the Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) dropped 1.1 percent to 2,023.40, the lowest in a week.
eastunder
12 years ago
Sohu.com Reports Third Quarter 2012 Unaudited Financial Results
Monday , November 05, 2012 00:35ET
BEIJING, Nov. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU), China's leading online media, search, gaming, community and mobile service group, today reported unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2012.
Third Quarter Highlights
-- Total revenues were US$285 million, up 23% year-over-year and 12%
quarter-over-quarter.
-- Brand advertising revenues were US$78 million, up 2% year-over-year and
12% quarter-over-quarter.
-- Sogou[1] revenues were US$37 million, up 102% year-over-year and 23%
quarter-over-quarter.
-- Online game revenues reached quarterly record high of US$151 million, up
30% year-over-year and 10% quarter-over-quarter.
-- GAAP net income attributable to Sohu.com Inc. was US$24 million, or
US$0.63 per fully diluted share. Non-GAAP net income attributable to
Sohu.com Inc. was US$30 million, or US$0.77 per fully diluted share.
Dr. Charles Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Sohu.com Inc. commented, "We are pleased with the solid financial results we achieved in the third quarter. Total revenues surpassed our expectations, rising 23% year-on-year. Brand advertising revenues met the high end of our guidance and online gaming revenues came in well ahead of our expectations."
Dr. Zhang added, "By business unit, for online video, our newly set-up dedicated sales team is bringing in results and we expect fourth quarter advertising revenue to be back on growth track. Sogou maintained triple-digit year-on-year revenue growth which was supported by improved monetization. For Changyou, strong performance by both MMO and web games helped post new records for both revenues and profit."
Ms. Belinda Wang, Co-President and COO added, "In the third quarter, thanks to solid demand from FMCG sector and the recovery of real estate sector, our brand advertising revenues reached the high end of our prior estimate. For the fourth quarter, although we see some weakening signals from the auto sector where Japanese car makers cut spending as a result of sharp decline in their sales volume, the impact is expected to be offset by the contribution from other sectors."
Third Quarter Financial Results
Revenues
Total revenues for the third quarter of 2012 were US$285 million, up 23% year-over-year and 12% quarter-over-quarter.
Total online advertising revenues, which include revenues from brand advertising and search and others businesses for the third quarter of 2012, were US$113 million, up 19% year-over-year and 15% quarter-over-quarter.
Brand advertising revenues for the third quarter of 2012 totaled US$78 million, up 2% year-over-year and 12% quarter-over-quarter.
Search and others revenues for the third quarter of 2012 were US$35 million, up 92% year-over-year and 23% quarter-over-quarter. The year-over-year increase was mainly due to increased traffic and improved monetization of traffic.
Online game revenues for the third quarter of 2012 were US$151 million, up 30% year-over-year and 10% quarter-over-quarter.
Wireless revenues for the third quarter of 2012 were US$14 million, up 1% year-over-year and down 8% quarter-over-quarter.
Gross Margin
Both GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin was 66% for the third quarter of 2012, compared with 61% in the second quarter of 2012 and 71% in the third quarter of 2011.
Online advertising gross margin for the third quarter of 2012 was 49%, compared with 32% in the second quarter of 2012 and 58% in the third quarter of 2011. Non-GAAP online advertising gross margin for the third quarter of 2012 was 50%, compared with 31% in the second quarter of 2012 and 58% in the third quarter of 2011.
Both GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin for brand advertising in the third quarter of 2012 was 52%, compared with 26% in the second quarter of 2012 and 61% in the third quarter of 2011. The year-over-year decrease in gross margin was primarily due to increases in content and bandwidth costs. The quarter-over-quarter increase in gross margin was primarily due to decrease in content costs. We recognized an approximately $15 million impairment charges of video content in the second quarter of 2012.
Both GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin for search and others business in the third quarter of 2012 were 44%, compared with 44% in the second quarter of 2012 and 49% in the third quarter of 2011. The year-over-year decrease in margin was mainly due to higher traffic acquisition costs.
Both GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin for online games in the third quarter of 2012 were 86%, compared with 87% in the second quarter of 2012 and 87% in the third quarter of 2011.
Both GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin for the wireless business for the third quarter of 2012 were 34%, compared with 35% in the second quarter of 2012 and 39% in the third quarter of 2011. The year-over-year decrease was primarily due to increased revenue sharing costs with partners.
Operating Expenses
For the third quarter of 2012, operating expenses totaled $125 million, up 36% year-over-year and 11% quarter-over-quarter. Non-GAAP operating expenses were $121 million, up 38% year-over-year and 14% quarter-over-quarter. The year-over-year increase was primarily due to an increase in the number of employees and higher salaries and benefits expense. The quarter-over-quarter increase was primarily due to an increase in the number of employees, higher salaries and benefits expense and higher marketing expense.
Operating Profit
Operating profit for the third quarter of 2012 was US$64 million, down 13% year-over-year and up 48% quarter-over-quarter. Operating margin was 22% for the third quarter of 2012, compared with 17% in the previous quarter and 32% in the third quarter of 2011.
Non-GAAP operating profit for the third quarter of 2012 was US$68 million, down 13% year-over-year and up 37% quarter-over-quarter. Non-GAAP operating margin was 24% for the third quarter of 2012, compared with 19% in the previous quarter and 33% in the third quarter of 2011.
Income Tax Expense
For the third quarter of 2012, GAAP income tax expense was US$19 million. Excluding a non-cash income tax expense of US$1 million recorded for the utilization of tax benefits from excess tax deductions related to share-based awards, non-GAAP income tax expense was US$18 million, flattish with the previous quarter.
Net Income
Before deducting the share of net income pertaining to the Non-controlling Interest, GAAP net income for the third quarter of 2012 was US$52 million, down 20% year-over-year and up 53% quarter-over-quarter. Non-GAAP net income for the third quarter of 2012 was US$59 million, down 15% year-over-year and up 43% quarter-over-quarter.
GAAP net income attributable to Sohu.com Inc. for the third quarter of 2012 was US$24 million, or US$0.63 per fully diluted share, down 47% year-over-year and up 123% quarter-over-quarter. Non-GAAP net income attributable to Sohu.com Inc. for the third quarter of 2012 was US$30 million, or US$0.77 per fully diluted share, down 40% year-over-year and up 80% quarter-over-quarter.
Cash Balance
As of September 30, 2012, Sohu Group had cash and cash equivalents of US$773 million, compared with US$733 million as of December 31, 2011.
Ms. Carol Yu, Co-President and CFO of Sohu.com Inc. commented, "Our strategic move of setting up a dedicated video sales team from early 2012 started to bear fruits. Our business units, including Sohu Video and Sogou, are making solid developments as the Group consistently and carefully grooms them. The encouraging progress validates our strategy that is to maximize long-term shareholder value."
Other development
On August 6, 2012, Changyou declared a special one-time cash dividend of $1.90 per Class A or Class B ordinary share, or $3.80 per ADS. The total amount of the special dividend declared was approximately $201 million. On September 21, 2012, Changyou paid the dividend to its shareholders. The amount of the dividend received by Sohu was approximately $136 million.
Supplementary Information for Online Game Results
Third Quarter 2012 Operational Results
-- Aggregate registered accounts for Changyou's games[2] , excluding
7Road's games, increased 41% year-over-year and 12% quarter-over-quarter
to 223.5 million.
-- Aggregate peak concurrent users ("PCU") for Changyou's games, excluding
7Road's games, decreased 5% year-over-year and increased 1%
quarter-over-quarter to 1.09 million.
-- Aggregate active paying accounts ("APA") for Changyou's games, excluding
7Road's games, decreased 20% year-over-year and 8% quarter-over-quarter
to 2.41 million. The quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year decreases
reflected a decline in the number of low-spending active paying accounts
that did not make a purchase in the third quarter of 2012 as Changyou
continued last quarter's strategy of giving away virtual items and
reducing in-game promotions in TLBB.
-- Average revenue per active paying account ("ARPU") for Changyou's games,
excluding 7Road's games, increased 46% year-over-year and 15%
quarter-over-quarter to RMB319.The quarter-over-quarter and
year-over-year increases were mainly due to the decline in TLBB's
low-spending active paying accounts and TLBB's core players increasing
their spending in the third quarter of 2012.
Business Outlook
For the fourth quarter of 2012, Sohu estimates:
-- Total revenues to be between US$288 million and US$293 million.
-- Brand advertising revenues to be between $80 million and $82 million;
this implies a sequential and annual increase of 3% to 5%.
-- Sogou revenues to be around US$40 million; this implies a sequential
increase of 7% and an annual growth of 74%.
-- Online game revenues to be between US$152 million and US$155 million.
This implies a sequential increase of 1% to 3% and represents an annual
growth of 23% to 26%.
-- Before deducting the share of non-GAAP net income pertaining to the
Non-Controlling interest, non-GAAP net income to be between US$48
million and US$51 million.
-- Non-GAAP net income attributable to Sohu.com Inc. to be between US$23
million and US$25 million, and non-GAAP fully diluted earnings per share
to be between US$0.60 and US$0.65.
-- Assuming no new grants of share-based awards, we estimate that
compensation expenses and income tax expenses relating to share-based
awards to be around US$3.5 million to US$4.5 million. The estimated
impact of this expense is expected to reduce Sohu's fully diluted
earnings per share for the fourth quarter of 2012 under US GAAP by 9 to
11 US cents.
Continued at:
http://www.knobias.com/story.htm?eid=3.1.7495978ecaf75079172cef5021101695aca6e0659797541e089e41d4ec173a6f
eastunder
12 years ago
Sohu.com Option Players Cover Their Bases Before Earnings
By Schaeffer's Investment Research Nov 01, 2012 11:00 am
http://www.minyanville.com/trading-and-investing/options/articles/bidu-sohu-baidu-sohucom-tech-sector/11/1/2012/id/45474?camp=syndication&medium=portals&from=yahoo
SOHU calls were the options of choice leading into yesterday's session.
Beijing-based Internet issue Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ:SOHU) is scheduled to take its turn in the earnings confessional ahead of the bell next Monday. Option players have been accumulating calls in the weeks leading up to the event, per data at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). As of October 31,8.34 ranks higher than 93% of other such readings taken over the last year, indicating calls have been bought to open over puts at a near annual-high clip over the last two weeks.
This call-skewed trend has translated into a Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.79 for the stock, which shows call open interest outweighs put open interest among options expiring in three months' time. Plus, although this ratio's ranking in the 46th percentile of its annual range indicates this preference for calls is hardly at an extreme, it does show that short-term speculators are slightly more call-heavy at the moment than usual.
It's more of a mixed bag outside of the options arena. For starters, short interest currently accounts for a lofty 10.4% of the stock's float, and it would take over two weeks to cover these shorted shares, at SOHU's average daily pace of trading.
Elsewhere, analysts are split, with five waving "strong buy" suggestions, and six maintaining middling "hold" recommendations. Meanwhile, the consensus 12-month price target of $52.37 not only represents a 37.7% premium to the stock's current perch, but also territory SOHU has not explored since late April.
Looking at SOHU's technical backdrop, the stock has had a dreary showing on the charts for some time. The equity has shed more than 45% on a year-over-year basis, and around 24% in 2012 alone. Plus, despite SOHU rebounding 12.7% since hitting an annual low of $33.75 on July 24, the equity is still staring at an overhead ceiling in the form of its 10-day moving average. This trendline has served as a stern layer of resistance since mid-September.
Given that SOHU jumped nearly 18% following its second-quarter earnings announcement in early August, the aforementioned uptick in call volume may simply be short sellers protecting their pessimistic positions in the case of history repeating itself. Wall Street is calling for a per-share profit of $0.46 in SOHU's third quarter.
In yesterday's session, though, puts emerged as the options of choice. As of the time of this writing yesterday, almost 3,000 put contracts had crossed the tape, representing nearly 11 times the average intraday pace for put options. By comparison, fewer than 300 call contracts had traded. This pickup in put volume comes as SOHU swoons in step with sector peer Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), who was hit with a slew of downgrades following its third-quarter earnings miss. At last check, SOHU was down roughly 1.4%.
eastunder
12 years ago
Sohu Rallies on IPO Plans as Earnings Lift ADRs: China Overnight
By Belinda Cao - Aug 6, 2012 10:51 AM MT
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-06/sohu-rallies-on-ipo-plans-as-earnings-lift-adrs-china-overnight.html?cmpid=yhoo
Sohu.com Inc. (SOHU), China’s fifth-most visited website, led gains in the nation’s Internet companies traded in New York, surging the most since October 2008 after saying its unit is planning an initial public offering.
The Bloomberg China-US Equity Index (CH55BN) of the most-traded Chinese companies in the U.S. rose 3.1 percent to 90.08 at 12:40 p.m. in New York, the most since May. Sohu and its online games unit Changyou.com Ltd. (CYOU) jumped 16 percent after announcing the U.S. IPO plans of a subsidiary. Social website operator Renren Inc. (RENN) gained the most in six months. Youku Inc. (YOKU) and Tudou Holdings Ltd. (TUDO) climbed more than 8 percent after saying their merger will be completed by the month’s end.
7Road.com Ltd., the online games company controlled by Changyou, plans to submit to the U.S. securities regulator a draft statement for a possible IPO, Sohu said in a statement yesterday. Changyou, which is 67 percent owned by Sohu, also announced it will pay shareholders a dividend of $3.8 for each share, after its 14 percent growth in second-quarter profit beat the average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
“What drives Sohu’s stock prices is really the growth in its games unit Changyou,” Henry Guo, an analyst at ThinkEquity Partners LLC, said by phone yesterday from San Francisco. “Changyou’s IPO plan for its web games unit and dividend payment indicate strong performance of the gaming business, and the parent company will benefit from it.”
eastunder
12 years ago
Sohu.com Reports Second Quarter 2012 Unaudited Financial Results
Monday , August 06, 2012 01:00ET
BEIJING, Aug. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU), China's leading online media, search, gaming, community and mobile service group, today reported unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012.
Second Quarter Highlights
-- Total revenues were US$256 million, up 29% year-over-year and 13%
quarter-over-quarter.
-- Brand advertising revenues were US$69 million, up 2% year-over-year and
14% quarter-over-quarter.
-- Sogou[1] revenues were US$30 million, up 123% year-over-year and 34%
quarter-over-quarter.
-- Online game revenues reached quarterly record high of US$137 million, up
35% year-over-year and 8% quarter-over-quarter.
-- GAAP net income attributable to Sohu.com Inc. was US$11 million, or
US$0.28 per fully diluted share. Non-GAAP net income attributable to
Sohu.com Inc. was US$16 million, or US$0.42 per fully diluted share.
Dr. Charles Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Sohu.com Inc. commented, "We had a solid second quarter with total revenues rising nearly 30% from last year, despite challenges faced in our brand advertising business. As China's economic growth continued to decelerate and we initiated some operational transitions in our online video business, revenues from brand advertising recorded only a low single-digit year-on-year increase."
Dr. Zhang added, "But overall, we are pleased with our performance at the group level as our search and online game segments both remained on a solid upward path. For search, Sogou again posted triple-digit revenue growth on a year-over-year basis. Our online game subsidiary Changyou achieved record results at both the top and bottom-line, supported by strong performance from its MMO and web-based game franchises. We believe the blended results help demonstrate the resilience of our business mix and the benefit of having diversified operations."
Ms. Belinda Wang, Co-President and COO added, "The year 2012 is a critical year of transition for the Sohu Group. As we continue to make heavy but necessary investments across our strategically important business lines, we are confident to see a payoff in 2013. "
Second Quarter Financial Results
Revenues
Total revenues for the second quarter of 2012 were US$256 million, up 29% year-over-year and 13% quarter-over-quarter.
Total online advertising revenues, which include revenues from brand advertising and search and others businesses for the second quarter of 2012, were US$98 million, up 21% year-over-year and 19% quarter-over-quarter.
Brand advertising revenues for the second quarter of 2012 totaled US$69 million, up 2% year-over-year and 14% quarter-over-quarter.
Search and others revenues for the second quarter of 2012 were US$29 million, up 111% year-over-year and 33% quarter-over-quarter.
Online game revenues for the second quarter of 2012 were US$137 million, up 35% year-over-year and 8% quarter-over-quarter.
Wireless revenues for the second quarter of 2012 were US$16 million, up 34% year-over-year and 17% quarter-over-quarter.
Gross Margin
Both GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin was 61% for the second quarter of 2012, compared with 65% in the first quarter of 2012 and 73% in the second quarter of 2011.
Online advertising gross margin for the second quarter of 2012 was 32%, compared with 39% in the first quarter of 2012 and 59% in the second quarter of 2011. Non-GAAP online advertising gross margin for the second quarter of 2012 was 31%, compared with 40% in the first quarter of 2012 and 60% in the second quarter of 2011.
Brand advertising gross margin for the second quarter of 2012 was 26%, compared with 39% in the first quarter of 2012 and 63% in the second quarter of 2011. The year-over-year decrease in gross margin was primarily due to increases in content and bandwidth costs. The quarter-over-quarter decrease in gross margin was due to approximately $15 million impairment charges of video content we recognized in the second quarter of 2012. Non-GAAP brand advertising gross margin for the second quarter of 2012 was 26%, compared with 40% in the first quarter of 2012 and 64% in the second quarter of 2011.
Both GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin for search and others business in the second quarter of 2012 were 44%, compared with 39% in the first quarter of 2012 and 40% in the second quarter of 2011. The increase in margin was mainly due to higher revenues from online marketing services.
Both GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin for online games in the second quarter of 2012 were 87%, compared with 87% in the first quarter of 2012 and 90% in the second quarter of 2011.
Both GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin for the wireless business for the second quarter of 2012 were 35%, compared with 34% in the first quarter of 2012 and 39% in the second quarter of 2011. The year-over-year decrease was primarily due to increased revenue share with partners.
Operating Expenses
For the second quarter of 2012, operating expenses totaled $113 million, up 49% year-over-year and 19% quarter-over-quarter. Non-GAAP operating expenses were $106 million, up 48% year-over-year and 15% quarter-over-quarter. The increase in operating expenses was primarily due to an increase in the number of employees, higher salaries and benefits expense and an increase in marketing expense in the second quarter of 2012.
Operating Profit
Operating profit for the second quarter of 2012 was US$43 million, down 37% year-over-year and 17% quarter-over-quarter. Operating margin was 17% for the second quarter of 2012, compared with 23% in the previous quarter and 35% in the second quarter of 2011.
Non-GAAP operating profit for the second quarter of 2012 was US$49 million, down 32% year-over-year and 10% quarter-over-quarter. Non-GAAP operating margin was 19% for the second quarter of 2012, compared with 24% in the previous quarter and 37% in the second quarter of 2011.
Income Tax Expense
For the second quarter of 2012, GAAP income tax expense was US$18.5 million. Excluding a non-cash income tax expense of US$1.5 million recorded for the utilization of tax benefits from excess tax deductions related to share-based awards and deferred tax liability impact on intangible asset impairment of US$0.6 million, non-GAAP income tax expense was US$17.6 million, compared with US$17.6 million in the previous quarter.
Net Income
Before deducting the share of net income pertaining to the Non-controlling Interest, GAAP net income for the second quarter of 2012 was US$34 million, down 45% year-over-year and 17% quarter-over-quarter. Non-GAAP net income for the second quarter of 2012 was US$41 million, down 39% year-over-year and 9% quarter-over-quarter.
GAAP net income attributable to Sohu.com Inc. for the second quarter of 2012 was US$11 million, or US$0.28 per fully diluted share. Non-GAAP net income attributable to Sohu.com Inc. for the second quarter of 2012 was US$16 million, or US$0.42 per fully diluted share, down 65% year-over-year and 31% quarter-over-quarter.
Cash Balance
Sohu Group continued to maintain a debt-free balance sheet and a cash position of US$765 million as of June 30, 2012.
Ms. Carol Yu, Co-President and CFO of Sohu.com Inc. commented, "With our strong balance sheet and resilient business mix, Sohu Group is able to make long-term investments for the businesses we believe that have bright prospects. Our determination is unaffected by business cycles and short-term factors, and will eventually maximize returns to shareholders."
Recent development
Changyou.com Declares US$3.8 Special Cash Dividend per American Depositary Share
On August 6, 2012, Changyou.com Limited (NASDAQ: CYOU), Sohu's online game subsidiary, announced that its board of directors declared a special one-time cash dividend of US$1.9 per Class A or Class B ordinary share, or US$3.8 per American Depositary Share ("ADS"). The total amount of the special cash dividend is approximately US$201 million.
Record holders of Changyou's Class A and Class B ordinary shares at the close of business U.S. Eastern Time on August 17, 2012 (the "Record Date") will be entitled to receive the special cash dividend. Holders of the Changyou's ADSs, each representing two Class A ordinary shares, as of the Record Date will be entitled to the special cash dividend. Changyou expects, Bank of New York Mellon, depositary bank for Changyou's ADR program, to pay out dividends to ADS holders on or before September 30, 2012.
The amount of the dividend to be received by Sohu is expected to be approximately $136 million. Sohu does not expect to pay any of such dividend it receives, or to pay any other dividends, to its shareholders in the foreseeable future.
For more information about the special Changyou dividend, please refer to Changyou's separate announcement.
Supplementary Information for Online Game Results
Second Quarter 2012 Operational Results
-- Aggregate registered accounts for Changyou's games[2], excluding 7Road's
games, increased 51% year-over-year and 6% quarter-over-quarter to 199.5
million.
-- Aggregate peak concurrent users ("PCU") for Changyou's games, excluding
7Road's games, increased 11% year-over-year and were flat
quarter-over-quarter to 1.08 million.
-- Aggregate active paying accounts ("APA") for Changyou's games, excluding
7Road's games, decreased 10% year-over-year and 16% quarter-over-quarter
to 2.61 million. The decreases reflected a decline in the number of
low-spending active paying accounts that did not make a purchase in the
second quarter of 2012 as a result of less in-game promotions and the
give-away of virtual items in TLBB to celebrate the game's fifth year
anniversary.
-- Average revenue per active paying account ("ARPU") for Changyou's games,
excluding 7Road's games, increased 31% year-over-year and 23%
quarter-over-quarter to RMB277. The increase was mainly due to the
decline in low-spending active paying accounts in the second quarter of
2012.
Business Outlook
For the third quarter of 2012, Sohu estimates:
-- Total revenues to be between US$272 million and US$277 million.
-- Brand advertising revenues to be between $76 million and $78 million;
this implies a sequential increase of 10% to 13%, and flattish with the
same period of last year to an annual increase of 2%. This includes
revenues from 17173 of US$11 million to US$12 million, which implies a
sequential increase of 21% to 32% and an annual increase of 14% to 24%.
-- Sogou revenues to be around US$37 million; this implies a sequential
increase of 22% and an annual growth of 101%.
-- Online game revenues to be between US$141 million and US$144 million.
This implies a sequential increase of 3% to 5% and represents an annual
growth of 22% to 24%.
-- Before deducting the share of non-GAAP net income pertaining to the
Non-Controlling interest, non-GAAP net income to be between US$42
million and US$45 million.
-- Non-GAAP net income attributable to Sohu.com Inc. to be between US$19
million and US$21 million, and non-GAAP fully diluted earnings per share
to be between US$0.50 and US$0.55.
-- Assuming no new grants of share-based awards, we estimate that
compensation expenses and income tax expenses relating to share-based
awards to be around US$4.5 million to US$5.5 million. The estimated
impact of this expense is expected to reduce Sohu's fully diluted
earnings per share for the third quarter of 2012 under US GAAP by 12 to
14 cents
Continued at:
http://www.knobias.com/story.htm?eid=3.1.87efeaeaf9d5ee329dfc74261d478312116615fd52b4f2482c3a93d3f0d56078
eastunder
12 years ago
SOHU 2Q earnings 8-6-12 BMO
Sohu.com to Report Second Quarter 2012 Financial Results on August 6, 2012
Press Release: Sohu.com Inc. – Mon, Jul 23, 2012 1:00 AM EDT.. .
BEIJING, July 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Sohu.com Inc. (SOHU), China's leading online media, search, gaming, community and mobile service group, will report its second quarter 2012 unaudited financial results on Monday, August 6, 2012, before U.S. market hours.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100201/CNM013LOGO )
Sohu's management team will host a conference call on the same day at 8:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time, August 6, 2012 (8:30 p.m. Beijing/Hong Kong time, August 6, 2012) following the quarterly results announcement
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