Sohu.com forecasts profit above expectations

Monday October 27, 9:14 am ET
Chinese Web portal Sohu.com predicts 4Q profit well above Wall Street's expectations

NEW YORK (AP) -- Sohu.com Inc., a Chinese Web portal, forecast fourth-quarter earnings well above Wall Street's expectations on Monday, after reporting that its third-quarter earnings spiked.

Sohu expects earnings per share to range from $1.20 to $1.25 in the fourth quarter and for revenue to fall between $118 million and $122 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters forecast quarterly earnings of $1.08 per share on revenue of $116.5 million, on average.

Also Monday, Sohu reported that its third-quarter earnings more than quadrupled as the company benefited from increased Internet use in China following the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Sohu was the official Web portal for the games.

U.S.-traded shares of Sohu jumped $3.27, or 7.3 percent, to $48 in premarket trading.