Beijing-based Sogou disclosed Monday that it booked USD 36.6 million in net income in the third quarter of this year, up 53% year-over-year.
The improved profitability in the quarter can be attributed to the firm’s increased revenues and reduced operating expenses. Sogou, which manages the search engine Sogou Search, and the Chinese language input Sogou Pinyin as its core businesses, made USD 314.9 million in total revenues, up 14% year-on-year, and lowered its operating expenses by 10% year-on-year to USD 98.2 million.
Its sales and marketing expenses were USD 37.5 million, a 14% decrease year-over-year, while general and administrative expenses were USD 10.7 million, a 31% decrease year-over-year.
“During the third quarter we achieved healthy top and bottom-line growth, despite the headwinds in the macro-environment and the online advertising industry,” said Xiaochuan Wang, CEO of Sogou, adding that its search revenue continued to grow faster than the industry average.
Sogou booked USD 3.9 million in net losses in the first quarter of this year, the first quarterly loss since it went public in 2017 in the United States. In the second quarter of this year, it booked USD 21.3 million in net income, down from USD 33.2 million in the second quarter of 2018.
The company, which has Tencent as one of its largest shareholders, is also speeding up to monetize its AI capabilities in search of revenues beyond its core search engine business. In early 2019, Sogou has been named by Fast Company as one of the top ten most innovative companies in China.