Chinese online game developer Giant Interactive (GA) says its net revenue for the third quarter of 2007 was CNY405.2 million, an increase of 164.2% over the third quarter of 2006 and 9.5% over the second quarter of 2007.

Gross profit for the third quarter of 2007 was CNY359.8million, an increase of 152.8% over the third quarter of 2006 and 8.5% over the second quarter of 2007. Gross profit margin for the third quarter of 2007 was 88.8%. Net income for the third quarter of 2007 was CNY290.2 million, an increase of 152.6% over the third quarter of 2006 and 9.8% over the second quarter of 2007. Net income margin for the third quarter of 2007 was 71.6%.

Yuzhu Shi, chairman and CEO of Giant Interactive, said, "Our ZT Online game continued to deliver solid performance with the successful launch of the expansion packs and with the execution of our marketing strategy of targeting new users in medium and smaller cities. The increases in both APA and ARPU demonstrate the continued expansion of our paying player base and increasing player loyalty to ZT Online. The development of our second major game, Giant Online, is on track and feedback from closed beta testing has been very positive."

Total operating expenses for the third quarter of 2007 were CNY70.2 million, representing an increase of 3.3% from CNY67.9 million in the second quarter of 2007, and an increase of 152.6% from CNY27.8 million in the third quarter of 2006. The sequential increase in operating expenses is mainly attributable to the rise in research and product development and sales and marketing expenses, while the year-over-year increase in operating expenses was primarily a result of continuous investment to accelerate our business expansion.

Cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2007 grew to CNY1.17 billion from CNY98.9 million as of June 30, 2007. This increase was mainly due to the receipt of CNY900 million from Jiante, a related party of the company, as payment for advances provided by Giant earlier in 2007.