- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Oil extends gains, jobs report lifts Wall Street
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
- Oil extends gains, Hong Kong stocks resume rally
- 'A man provides': Ukrainian miners send families away as Russia advances
- EU states greenlight extra tariffs on EVs from China
- Hong Kong stocks resume rally, oil dips after Middle East-fuelled surge
- Crude stable after Israel-Iran surge, Hong Kong stocks resume gains
- Hera spacecraft to probe asteroid deflected by defence test
- US dockworkers to head back to work after tentative deal
- After Helene's destruction, North Carolina starts to rebuild
- Dockers end three-day strike at Montreal port
- What next for OpenAI after $157 billion bonanza?
- Israel-Hamas war causes 86-percent dive in Gaza GDP: IMF
- Milan's Morata moves house after Inter-fan town mayor 'violates' privacy
- 'Devastating' storm hits Augusta National but Masters will go on
- Relief in Brazil, Asia over delay to EU deforestation rules
- Oil prices jump, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Biden says 'discussing' possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
- Oil prices rise, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
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Baidu revenue up 2% amid cost-cutting drive
Chinese internet giant Baidu reported on Tuesday third-quarter revenues of 32.5 billion yuan ($4.6 billion), representing a year-on-year increase of 2 percent.
Its earnings report showed Baidu posted a net loss of 146 million yuan for the three months through September as it reined in costs and trimmed back far deeper losses from the equivalent quarter last year.
Chinese technology majors have struggled in recent months amid an economic slowdown, Covid-19 curbs that have hammered consumer sentiment, and tighter regulatory scrutiny.
Earnings reports from internet titans, including Alibaba and JD.com, have presented a mixed picture in recent weeks.
"Baidu Core delivered a solid set of financial and operational results in the third quarter, despite the continued challenges posed by the Covid-19 resurgence," said CEO Robin Li.
The core business "resumed positive growth, driven by a gradual recovery of our online marketing business and the steady growth of our AI Cloud revenue", Li said, hailing "significant progress in intelligent driving".
"Looking ahead, we expect our mobile ecosystem to continue generating strong cash flow and fund our investment in AI Cloud and intelligent driving, which will help ... drive long-term business growth," he said.
Beijing-based Baidu reported a third-quarter loss of 16.6 billion yuan last year, despite revenues rising 63 percent year-on-year to 31.9 billion yuan at the time.
The company, which operates China's biggest online search engine, has diversified in recent years into artificial intelligence, cloud computing and autonomous driving technologies as advertising revenue has remained sluggish.
- Mixed bag -
Beijing has wrought a sweeping crackdown on the tech industry since late 2020 as part of an effort to curb monopolistic practices and promote competition between internet platforms.
But the strategy of record fines, torched IPOs and probes into major firms have hit revenues and placed further strain on the ailing economy.
E-commerce titan Alibaba announced last week a third-quarter loss of 20.6 billion yuan, which it partly blamed on a "decrease in market prices of our equity investments in publicly traded companies".
Rival JD.com reported a sales rise of 11 percent year-on-year, although neither platform released full revenue figures for the "Singles' Day" shopping bonanza this month, considered a barometer of Chinese consumer sentiment.
Despite recently announcing the loosening of coronavirus policies, some Chinese authorities are persisting with a zero-tolerance strategy of snap lockdowns that have disrupted business operations in some areas.
Ng.A.Adebayo--CPN