Fourth Quarter 2007 Total Revenue Guidance Increases to US$55.5
Million to US$57.5 Million Non-advertising Revenue Guidance Increases to
US$24.5 Million to US$25.5 Million Non-GAAP EPS Guidance Increases to US$0.36
to US$0.38
BEIJING, CHINA, December 4, 2007 – Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU), China's
leading online media, communication, search, online game and mobile value-added
services company, today announced it has raised guidance for its fourth quarter
2007 financial results.
Sohu is raising its guidance for the fourth quarter of 2007 for total
revenue, which is now expected to be between US$55.5 million and US$57.5
million, an increase of US$2 million over previous guidance, with advertising
revenue guidance unchanged from previously reported estimates of US$31 million
to US$32 million, but with non-advertising revenue now expected to be between
US$24.5 million and US$25.5 million, an increase of US$2 million over previous
guidance. The revised non-advertising guidance results from stronger than
expected performance by Sohu’s online game Tian Long Ba Bu (“TLBB”). On November
1, 2007, Sohu successfully launched its second expansion pack of TLBB. Peak
concurrent users (PCU) of the game have exceeded 500,000. Although TLBB is
experiencing robust growth to date, Sohu anticipates the game to mature starting
first quarter of 2008. Sohu now estimates that non-GAAP fully diluted
earnings per share (i.e. excluding share-based compensation expense) for the
fourth quarter of 2007 will be between US$0.36 and US$0.38, an increase of
US$0.03.
Dr. Charles Zhang, Chairman and CEO of Sohu, commented, “We are excited
about the way the fourth quarter is shaping up, with on-track advertising
business and a stronger than expected performance by TLBB. We
believe that this is a direct result of our continued focus on the development
of our core technological strengths and advancements. Fueled by the increased
contribution from our online games business, we are able to further reinvest
strategically into our technology and our portal business so as to continue to
create and enhance shareholder value.”
About Sohu.com Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) is China's
premier online brand and indispensable to the daily life of millions of Chinese,
providing a network of web properties and community based/web 2.0 products which
offer the vast Sohu user community a broad array of choices regarding
information, entertainment and communication. Sohu has built one of the most
comprehensive matrices of Chinese language web properties and proprietary search
engines, consisting of the mass portal and leading online media destination www.sohu.com; interactive search engine www.sogou.com; #1 online alumni club www.chinaren.com; #1 games information portal
www.17173.com; the top real estate website www.focus.cn; wireless value-added services
provider www.goodfeel.com.cn; and
leading online mapping service provider www.go2map.com.
Sohu corporate services consist of brand advertising on its matrix of
websites as well as paid listing and bid listing on its in-house developed
search directory and engines. Sohu also offers two types of consumer services.
The company operates two massive multi-player online role-playing games, namely
Tian Long Ba Bu and Blade Online, and a casual game platform. Sohu also offers
wireless value-added services such as news, information, music, ringtone and
picture content sent over mobile phones. Sohu.com, established by Dr. Charles
Zhang, one of China's Internet pioneers, is in its eleventh year of operation.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. It is currently
expected the Business Outlook will not be updated until release of Sohu's next
quarterly earnings announcement; however, Sohu reserves right to update its
Business Outlook at any time for any reason. Statements that are not
historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are
forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current plans,
estimates and projections, and therefore you should not place undue reliance on
them. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. We
caution you that a number of important factors could cause actual results to
differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.
Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the uncertain
regulatory landscape in the People's Republic of China, fluctuations in Sohu’s
quarterly operating results, Sohu's historical and possible future losses and
limited operating history, the company's reliance on online advertising sales,
online games and wireless services (most wireless revenues are collected from a
few mobile network operators) for its revenues, and the possibility that Sohu’s
online game TLBB will not continue to perform for the remaining month of the
fourth quarter of 2007 as well as it has in the first two months of the quarter.
Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Sohu's annual
report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, and other filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Sohu.com Contact Information Erin Sheng Manager Investor Relations
and Corporate Communications Tel: +86 10 6272 6596 E-mail: ir@contact.sohu.com http://corp.sohu.com |