China's top search engine operator, Baidu Inc, more than doubled its quarterly net profit as an increase in paid click volume and new customer additions boosted revenue.

Baidu, which has grabbed market share from Google, dominates over 70 percent of China's search market and is aggressively seeking other revenue streams by diversifying into e-commerce and online video.

It expects revenue for the fourth quarter to come in at US$354.2 million to US$364.7 million, ahead of the average analyst forecast for US$348.5 million.

Third-quarter net income rose to US$156.4 million, or 45 cents a share, from US$72.2 million, or US$2.07 per share, a year ago, before a 10-for-1 stock split. Analysts were expecting earnings of 41 cents per share.

Revenue surged to US$337.2 million from US$187.3 million a year ago. Analysts, on average, had expected revenue of $333.3 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of Baidu slid 4 percent to US$98.60 in after-hours trade following its results. The stock climbed 2.5 percent during Thursday's regular session and has more than doubled since January.

(Xinhua News Agency October 22, 2010)