SOHU Inc, China's third largest web-portal owner and video site operator, reported a whopping 72 percent increase in second-quarter profit on soaring advertising revenue.

Profit in the three months ending in June was up to US$22 million from US$12.8 million a year ago and sales added 33 percent annually to US$339 million, the company said in a statement yesterday.

Online advertising revenue rose 49 percent from a year ago to US$146 million, making up 43 percent of total income.

"Our online video (sector) has seen fast growth in user, traffic and revenue in the first seven months," Charles Zhang, chairman and chief executive officer, said in the statement.

The company's online game revenue was up 24 percent to US$168 million.

"We'll put all the resources of the company to support the growth of our video unit as it is a key sector and we cannot afford to lose the battle," Zhang told a media briefing after the earnings release yesterday.