Sina.com reports 'outstanding' growth

One of China's most popular web portals has reported a rise in profits in the first three months of the year.

Revenues at Sina Corporation rose 39 per cent to $71.3m, while net income jumped 87 per cent to $16.1m compared to the same period a year ago.

However, compared to the previous quarter's figure of $70.7m, revenues were up only slightly.

"We had an excellent first quarter to start the year," said Sina chief executive Charles Chao. "The growth of our advertising revenues has been accelerating and our mobile business has continued its rebound."

Sina provides a broad range of Chinese-language news, entertainment, communication and community sites through its Sina.com portal.

More than half of the firm's revenues now come from advertising, and ad revenues rose 51 per cent over the year to reach $47.8m in the first quarter.

However, the figure represented a five per cent fall from the last three months of 2007. Non-advertising revenues increased 20 per cent to $23.5m.

"Our outstanding performance in the advertising business is a strong indication that Sina's position as the leading online media and branded advertising platform in China has been further enhanced," said Chao.

"The company continues to expand its already wide range of products and services, and we are equally pleased with our continued success in building our web 2.0 product lines with the launch of Sina Space and Sina TV."