Sohu.com Inc said yesterday its third-quarter profits quadrupled from a year earlier as a result of more online advertising income and an increase in online game players.

Net income of Q3 in 2008 increased to US$40.3 million, or US$1.02 a share, from US$9.69 million, or 25 cents, a year earlier, according to a statement by the company.

Brand advertising income increased 66 percent from a year earlier to reach US$49.4 million. Sohu benefited from the growth of Internet users in China following the Beijing Olympics as more customers used the platform to market themselves, which was within the company's expectations.

"We gained strong momentum from the successful execution of our strategy in the third quarter," said Charles Zhang, chairman and CEO of Sohu.com.

Revenues from its online game sector surged 330 percent from the same period last year to US$54.6 million.

Total revenues for the third quarter to September 30, 2008, were US$120.7 million, up 134 percent year-on-year.

Belinda Wang, co-president and chief marketing officer of Sohu.com, noted that the advertising revenue growth in this quarter was "mainly driven by the shifting of advertising budgets from offline to online, and robust spending" for the Olympics.

(Shanghai Daily October 28, 2008)