Chinese Internet giant Baidu scored a 25% increase in net profits in 2014, reaching RMB13.2 billion ($2.125 billion). Revenues were up 54% to RMB49.1 billion ($7.91 billion).
The company, which dominates online search in China, has spent two years re-engineering itself to expand its offerings on mobile platforms.
"2014 was a year of remarkable accomplishment for Baidu. We’ve successfully transitioned from a PC-centric to a mobile-first company, positioning us well for the next phase of our mobile opportunity: connecting people with services,” said Robin Li, chairman and chief executive officer of Baidu. “In December, for the first time search revenue from mobile surpassed PC.”
One of the biggest increases in costs has been at iQIYI, its leading online video platform. Baidu said that content costs as a component of cost of revenues were RMB1.87 billion ($302 million) in 2014, representing 3.8% of total revenues, compared to 2.6% in 2013.