Baidu’s profit up 14% in Q3

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Beijing, 21st November: Last week, Baidu, the leading Chinese language Internet search provider, released its financial results for the quarter ended 30th September 2024. Revenues in the quarter were US$4.8 billion, a decrease of 3% year-on-year. However, the company’s net profit posted an increase of 14% in the third quarter, reaching US$1.1 billion.

Revenues from Baidu’s core business were US$3.8 billion in the quarter, flat with the figure recorded in the previous year. The majority of those revenues (US$2.7 billion) were generated from its online marketing business, which also dropped by 4% year-on-year. However, Baidu’s non-online marketing businesses grew 12% in the same period, amounting at US$1.1 billion. According to the company, the growth was mainly driven by AI Cloud business.

Robin Li, Co-founder and CEO of Baidu, said, “Baidu Core’s flattish third quarter top line reflected the ongoing weakness in our online marketing business, offset by the growth of our AI Cloud business. Our strong AI capabilities are gaining broader market recognition, as evidenced by increasing adoption of ERNIE. In intelligent driving, Apollo Go continues to lead the global autonomous ride-hailing market, hitting another milestone with our sixth-generation autonomous vehicle now operating on public roads across multiple cities in China. Despite the near-term pressures, we remain steadfast in our AI-focused strategy and are confident in our long-term trajectory. As we further scale AI, we are emboldened to find how it can drive innovations and create value for consumers, enterprises and society at large.”

ABEA announces new leadership

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Australia, 20th November: The Australian Business Events Association (ABEA) has its latest board appointments: Matt Pearce (CEO and co-founder of Talk2Media), Gareth Martin (CEO of Business Events Perth), Dan Londero (CEO and Founder of Turnkey Event Solutions) and Rocky Bruzzano (Managing Director of Exponet).

Matt Pearce will serve as Deputy Chair and represent organisers. Gareth Martin will be the bureau sector representative and representative for Western Australia. Dan Londero will represent small business interests and will represent suppliers. Rocky Bruzzano will lead the Finance Subcommittee.

In addition, ABEA also appointed Amy Saleh (Operations Director at Hannover Fairs Australia and current Chair of the Emerging Leaders Council) as ABEA’s first Emerging Leader Board Observer, providing new perspectives while cultivating future board leaders. She will also help establish selection criteria for this position in the future.

Peter King, Chair, ABEA, was quoted, “We had an exceptional amount of candidates who all put their hands up to be part of the ABEA Board. The members came out in force to vote, and their voices have been heard. We wish to thank everyone who took part. The members have chosen highly skilled and dedicated professionals to help lead the organisation into its next phase.”

91st UFI Global Congress welcomes 600 delegates

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Paris/Cologne, 26th November: UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, held its 91st Global Congress in Cologne, Germany, running from 20th to 23rd November. It was hosted by Koelnmesse, about 600 delegates from over 55 countries and regions attended the congress.

The theme of this year’s congress was “Changes to Chances”, with programme defined and described the global changes underway and forthcoming, as well as tackled the question of which opportunities they will provide for the sector.

During the congress, the first “UFI Medals of Honour” awarded to three recipients: Sandy Angus (UFI President 2001-2003), Mary Larkin (UFI President 2020-2021) and Kai Hattendorf (UFI CEO since 2015). It also welcomed the 2024-25 UFI President: Hugh Jones, CEO of RX.

Kai Hattendorf, CEO of UFI, stated, “This year’s Congress in Cologne will find a place among the biggest and best ones that this organisation has ever produced. Participants’ numbers match Shanghai 2016, which had been the best attended Congress to date. Beyond the numbers, and in great collaboration, we have been able to deliver value to each and every participant, empowering them to turn changes into chances in reflection of this year’s theme.”

Quick takes

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HKTDC to open DesignInspire

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) will organise its DesignInspire at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), from 5th to 7th December. Under the theme of “Design for a Better Tomorrow”, this year’s event will bring together local and international design luminaries to create a unique experiential journey for both industry professionals and the public.

3+ million visitor arrivals for October 2024 in Macau

Macau’s Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) has released its latest information for visitor arrivals in October 2024. The number of visitor arrivals increase by 14% year-on-year, reaching 3,135,358, which represents a recovery to more than 97% of the level in October 2019. In addition, same-day visitors grew 23%, while overnight visitors was up by 3.1%. The average length of stay of visitors shortened by 0.1 days, down to 1.1 days.

IEG releases interim management report

Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) has recently released its interim management report as of 30th September 2024. Revenues were €179.4 million, an increase of 20% year-on-year. Profit was more than double of the previous year’s figure, reaching €21 million.

OSH India 2024 opens in Mumbai

Informa Markets’ OSH India 2024, a leading occupational safety and health expo and conference in India, opened its door from 21st to 23rd November, at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai. International safety experts, industry leaders were able to exchange insights, foster innovation, and tackle pressing issues in the industry. Over 250 brands showcased more than 1,000 products of the latest innovations in workplace safety and health.