China's portal company, Sohu.com, said its second-quarter profits swelled as demand for text messaging and online advertising soared during the SARS epidemic.

Earnings of the Beijing-based, Nasdaq listed company jumped 64 per cent quarter on quarter to US$7.53 million for the three months to the end of June. Sohu, which offers electronic-commerce, online media and mobile value-added services, said "strong advertising orders and backlog" should result in a third-quarter net profit between US$5.2 million and US$6.2 million on revenue of US$20 million to US$21.3 million. Total revenue grew for the 12th consecutive quarter to US$19.3 million from US$14.4 million.