Sohu.com Inc. (SOHU) said Monday its first quarter net profit more than doubled from a year earlier as its recently-listed online gaming unit outperformed its advertising-dependent Internet portal business.

"Our online game business has been more resilient to the weak economic conditions and continues to show strong growth momentum. This more than offsets any temporary impact on our portal business brought by the economic weakness in China," Sohu Chief Executive Charles Zhang said in a statement.

The Chinese Internet portal's net profit for the three months ended March 31 rose to $44.6 million, or $1.15 a share, from $21.6 million, or $0.55 a share, a year earlier, but fell 21% from $56.6 million, or $1.45 a share, in the fourth quarter.

Excluding share-based compensation, Sohu posted first quarter net profit of $1.20 a share, exceeding its guidance by 10 cents.

Revenue rose 36.4% to $115.7 million from $84.8 million a year earlier, but fell 4.8% from the fourth quarter of 2008, as online advertising fell.

Sohu's online gaming unit, Changyou.com, said its first quarter net profit rose to $33.5 million, or 71 cents per American Depositary Receipt, more than double the $15.2 million, or 32 cents per ADR that it earned a year earlier and up 15% from the previous quarter.

Changyou, which listed on Nasdaq last month, posted first quarter revenue of $61.6 million, up 50% from a year earlier and up 6% from the previous quarter.

Changyou began trading in the U.S. in April following a $128.3 million initial public offering. Following the IPO, Sohu retains a 68.5% stake in the company.

"Online games, which provide low-cost entertainment, continue to be a very popular leisure time activity in China, even in an economic downturn, making the industry a strong defensive play," Changyou chief executive Tao Wang said in a statement.

Sohu said it expects revenue in the second quarter to be between $121 million and $125 million. The company expects net profit excluding share-based compensation to fall to between $31 million and $33 million from $46.9 million in the second quarter, as the Changyou spinoff dilutes some of its earnings.

-By Aaron Back, Dow Jones Newswires; (8610) 6588-5848; aaron.back@dowjones.com