Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) revealed today that it has filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 28, 2014. The leading Chinese language internet search provider will make available the hard copy of its annual report, which contains audited consolidated financial statements, free of cost to its shareholders and ADS holders upon request.
Baidu’s annual report is available on the company’s investor relations website at http://ir.baidu.com.
Impressive 4Q earnings
For the fourth quarter, Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) posted an EPS of $1.39 compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37. On year over year basis, earnings per share were up 9%. Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.57 billion up 7.1% sequentially and 50.3% from the same period last year. Solid mobile business was primarily the main reason for the above consensus results.
At the time of release of earnings, Robin Li, chairman and CEO of Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU), said “We’re pleased to have finished a milestone year for Baidu with a solid fourth quarter performance.” After the announcement of earnings, shares of the company were up 7% in after-hours trading. For the full year, Baidu reported revenues of RMB31.944 billion ($5.277 billion), which is an increase of 43.2% over 2012.
For the first quarter of 2014, the internet provider expects revenue to be in the range of RMB9.240 billion ($1.526 billion) to RMB9.520 billion ($1.573 billion), which is an increase of 54.8%–59.5% year over year. Consensus estimates the revenue at $1.306 billion, which is well below the guided range.
Baidu won a dismissal
Recently, Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) won the dismissal of a U.S. lawsuit by free speech activists, who accused the internet company of restricting political speech on its search engine. Activists including eight New York writers and video producers sued Baidu of creating search engine algorithms that prevent U.S. users from viewing articles, videos and other sources that reveal more information on the democracy in China.
U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan noted, “The First Amendment protects Baidu’s right to advocate for systems of government other than democracy (in China or elsewhere) just as surely as it protects plaintiffs’ rights to advocate for democracy.”
However, a group of activists are planning to file an appeal against the ruling later this week.
