Tudou reports Q2 loss on rising costs

SHANGHAI -- Online video-sharing company Tudou Holdings on Monday reported a net loss of 19.2 million yuan ($3.05 million) in the second quarter due to an increase in the cost of Internet bandwidth and content.

The Nasdaq-listed company's revenues stood at 171.9 million yuan in the second quarter, up 47.3 percent from one year earlier, Tudou said.

Most of the revenues were generated through online advertising sales, which jumped 47.4 percent to 150.7 million yuan.

The company's costs increased by 123.2 percent year on year to 191 million yuan during the April-June period, the company said.

Internet bandwidth costs totaled 65.1 million yuan, compared to 34.5 million yuan in the same period last year. Content costs hit 100.5 million yuan, up 64.8 million yuan year on year, while mobile video service costs rose to 12.3 million yuan, the company said.

Tudou also reported higher operating expenses for the second quarter, partly due to merger-related expenses of 23.7 million yuan resulting from the company's pending transaction with Youku Inc, the country's largest video-sharing website.

Tudou and Youku inked a merger agreement in March in an unexpected move that analysts say will help both sites achieve profitability.

Tudou said the company will hold a shareholder meeting on Aug 20 to consider and vote on a proposal to approve the pending merger deal.