Sina Corporation (NASDAQ:SINA)

WEB NEWS

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Comments & Business Outlook

Fourth Quarter 2019 Financial Results

  • Net revenues increased 4% year-over-year to $593.3 million . Non-GAAP net revenues increased 4% year-over-year to $590.7 million , representing an increase of 5% on a constant currency basis [1] .
  • Net loss attributable to SINA was $175.4 million , or $2.53 for diluted net loss per share attributable to SINA's ordinary shareholders. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $82.7 million , or $1.17 for non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA's ordinary shareholders.

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Legal Insights

BEIJING, Dec. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- SINA Corporation (the "Company") (NASDAQ GS: SINA), a leading online media company serving China and the global Chinese communities, today announced that the Netherlands Arbitration Institute (the "NAI") recently rendered an arbitral award regarding the dispute between GeoSolutions B.V. ("GSBV") and its parent company GeoSolutions Holdings N.V. ("GHNV", together with GSBV, "GeoSolutions") as claimants on one hand, and Sina Hong Kong Limited, a subsidiary of the Company ("SINA HK") and GyPSii (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. ("GyPSii"), a joint venture that is 60% owned by SINA HK and 40% owned by GHNV, as respondents on the other hand, and rendered an award in favor of GSBV.

The arbitrators of NAI found that SINA HK was a party to, and had breached, a license agreement with GSBV and ordered that SINA HK and GyPSii be jointly and severally obligated to pay GSBV as stipulated under the arbitral award. The arbitrators rejected GeoSolutions' other requests for relief against SINA HK, including a declaration of infringement of copyright and payout of part of Weibo's market value.

The Company considers the arbitral award unjustified and groundless. SINA HK is considering legal and other actions available to protect its interests, while evaluating the financial impact of the award on SINA HK. As a result of the award and the fact that SINA HK is a consolidated subsidiary of the Company, the Company expects to record a one-time litigation reserve of approximately US$126 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.


Monday, December 30, 2019

Legal Insights

BEIJING, Dec. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- SINA Corporation (the "Company") (NASDAQ GS: SINA), a leading online media company serving China and the global Chinese communities, today announced that the Netherlands Arbitration Institute (the "NAI") recently rendered an arbitral award regarding the dispute between GeoSolutions B.V. ("GSBV") and its parent company GeoSolutions Holdings N.V. ("GHNV", together with GSBV, "GeoSolutions") as claimants on one hand, and Sina Hong Kong Limited, a subsidiary of the Company ("SINA HK") and GyPSii (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. ("GyPSii"), a joint venture that is 60% owned by SINA HK and 40% owned by GHNV, as respondents on the other hand, and rendered an award in favor of GSBV.

The arbitrators of NAI found that SINA HK was a party to, and had breached, a license agreement with GSBV and ordered that SINA HK and GyPSii be jointly and severally obligated to pay GSBV as stipulated under the arbitral award. The arbitrators rejected GeoSolutions' other requests for relief against SINA HK, including a declaration of infringement of copyright and payout of part of Weibo's market value.

The Company considers the arbitral award unjustified and groundless. SINA HK is considering legal and other actions available to protect its interests, while evaluating the financial impact of the award on SINA HK. As a result of the award and the fact that SINA HK is a consolidated subsidiary of the Company, the Company expects to record a one-time litigation reserve of approximately US$126 million in the fourth quarter of 2019.


Thursday, November 14, 2019

Comments & Business Outlook

Third Quarter 2019 Financial Results

  • Net revenues increased 1% year-over-year to $561.4 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 1% year-over-year to $558.8 million, representing an increase of 5% on a constant currency basis [1].
  • Net income attributable to SINA was $20.4 million, or $0.28 for diluted net income per share attributable to SINA's ordinary shareholders. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $67.0 million, or $0.94 for non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA's ordinary shareholders.



Monday, August 19, 2019

Comments & Business Outlook

Second Quarter 2019 Financial Results

  • For the second quarter of 2019, SINA reported net revenues of $533.1 million, a decrease of 1% compared to $537.4 million for the same period last year. 
  • Non-GAAP net revenues for the second quarter of 2019 were $530.4 million, a decrease of 1% compared to $534.8 million for the same period last year.
  • Non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA's ordinary shareholders for the second quarter of 2019 was $0.76, compared to $0.89 for the same period last year.

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Comments & Business Outlook

First Quarter 2019 Unaudited Financial Results

  • Both net revenues and non-GAAP net revenues increased 8% year-over-year to $475.1 million and $472.5 million.
  • Net income attributable to SINA was $33.1 million, or $0.46 for diluted net income per share attributable to SINA's ordinary shareholders. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $28.9 million, or $0.40 for non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA's ordinary shareholders.


Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Comments & Business Outlook

Fourth Quarter 2018 Financial Results

  • Both net revenues and non-GAAP net revenues increased 14% year-over-year to $573.0 million and $570.4 million, respectively.
  • Non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA's ordinary shareholders for the fourth quarter of 2018 was $0.80, compared to $0.79 for the same period last year.

Business Outlook

For the fiscal year 2019, SINA estimates that its net revenues are between RMB16.5 billion and RMB17.5 billion, or US$2.44 billion and US$2.59 billion, assuming US dollar and RMB exchange rate of 6.75. It represents an annual growth rate of 18% to 25% on a constant currency basis. Such revenue forecast includes the recognition of $10.4 million in deferred license revenues related to the license granted to Leju. This forecast reflects SINA's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.


Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Comments & Business Outlook

Third Quarter 2018 Financial Results

  • Both net revenues and non-GAAP net revenues increased 26% year-over-year to $557.2 million and $554.6 million, respectively.
  • Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $67.7 million, or $0.93 for non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA's ordinary shareholders.

"We are pleased with SINA's third quarter results. Despite intensified competition and macro headwinds, we delivered healthy growth in both revenues and profitability driven by the continued momentum of Weibo business." said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA.


Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Comments & Business Outlook

Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results

  • For the second quarter of 2018, SINA reported net revenues of $537.4 million, an increase of 50% compared to $358.9 million for the same period last year. Non-GAAP net revenues for the second quarter of 2018 were $534.8 million, an increase of 50% compared to $356.3 million for the same period last year.
  • Net income attributable to SINA was $35.1 million, or $0.47 for diluted net income per share attributable to SINA's ordinary shareholders. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $66.5 million, or $0.89 for non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA's ordinary shareholders.

"We had another good quarter." said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA. "Weibo continued to record healthy growth in both user base and monetization despite more intensified competition." said Mr. Chao. "For SINA businesses, we continued to see robust growth in user scale of SINA mobile apps, which bodes well for improved mobile monetization of SINA media." Mr. Chao added.


Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Comments & Business Outlook

First Quarter 2018 Financial Results

  • Both net revenues and non-GAAP net revenues increased 59% year-over-year to $440.8 million and $438.1 million, respectively.
  • Net income attributable to SINA was $28.7 million, or $0.38 for diluted net income per share attributable to SINA's ordinary shareholders. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $35.2 million, or $0.47 for non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA's ordinary shareholders.

"We had a good start to the year 2018." said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA. "Weibo delivered robust growth of revenues and profit on the back of greater user scale, stronger platform effect and improved monetization efficiency. Weibo continue to benefit from ad budget shift toward social, mobile and video features which the platform combines." said Mr. Chao. "SINA portal business demonstrated its recovery trend with progress achieved in mobile monetization of SINA media properties." Mr. Chao added.


Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Comments & Business Outlook

Fourth Quarter 2017 Financial Results

  • Net revenues increased 61% year-over-year to $503.7 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 61% year-over-year to $501.1 million.
  • Net income attributable to SINA was $45.4 million, or $0.60 for diluted net income per share attributable to SINA's ordinary shareholders. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $60.0 million, or $0.79 for non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA's ordinary shareholders.

"We closed 2017 with another strong quarter, capping off a remarkable year of growth," said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA. "Weibo's momentum continued on the back of sustainable user growth and engagement. We have also made progresses in machine learning capability, content distribution efficiency and advertising system upgrade, which further fueled the strong growth of Weibo. Going forward, Weibo will continue to focus on user base expansion and user engagement, invest in the reinforcing content ecosystem, capture higher wallet share in social marketing and diversify monetization opportunities in the long run." said Mr. Chao.

"For SINA business, we are delighted that it returned to the growth trajectory in 2017," Mr. Chao added. "Through improvement in content offering and effective channel marketing, SINA mobile media properties continuously expanded user scale, and improved user engagement and elevated monetization capability. Heading into 2018, we will continue to refine our mobile media products, enrich media content ecosystem and capitalize mobile opportunities. For our emerging fintech business, we will navigate through the new regulation landscape and aim to achieve growth through diversified product offerings in 2018," Mr. Chao concluded.    

Business Outlook

For the fiscal year 2018, SINA estimates that its net revenues are between RMB14.5 billion and RMB15.5 billion, or US$2.23 billion and US$2.38 billion, assuming US dollar and RMB exchange rate of 6.50, which was the closing rate on December 31, 2017. Such revenue forecast includes the recognition of $10.4 million in deferred license revenues related to the license granted to Leju. This forecast reflects SINA's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.


Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Comments & Business Outlook

September 25, 2017

Dear Fellow Shareholders,

At the SINA 2017 Annual General Meeting to be held on November 3, 2017, you will be asked to elect the director(s) whom you believe are most qualified to oversee the execution of the Company's strategy and serve in the best interests of ALL SINA shareholders. Your Board of Directors unanimously recommends that you vote "FOR" the re-election of Yichen Zhang. This decision, we believe, will help protect the immediate future of the Company and the value of your investment in SINA.

A New York City hedge fund, Aristeia Capital, L.L.C., that owns approximately 3.5% of SINA's shares has launched a costly and disruptive proxy contest to elect two of its hand-picked nominees to your Board. We urge our shareholders to discard any proxy materials sent to you by Aristeia and to vote "AGAINST" the Aristeia nominees, Brett Krause and Thomas Manning, on SINA's WHITE proxy card. We believe that Aristeia's proposed plan will not create sustainable shareholder value, but will instead consist of financial engineering maneuvers that will introduce substantial risk to your company, including certain proposals that are simply not feasible. We also note that Messrs. Krause and Manning are collectively being paid up to $160,000 in cash for their participation in Aristeia's proxy fight. We believe such payment clearly indicates that the Aristeia nominees will not function independently of Aristeia and instead, if elected, would seek to implement Aristeia's value-destructive agenda and could place in jeopardy the significant increase in SINA's share price that has recently occurred.

SINA'S ONGOING STRATEGY HAS DELIVERED RECORD PERFORMANCE AND HIGHLY ATTRACTIVE RETURNS FOR SHAREHOLDERS

SINA has built a strong digital media network in China, which includes SINA.com and SINA.cn (PC and mobile portal), SINA Mobile Applications (SINA News App and other vertical apps) and Weibo (the leading social media platform in China). Online advertising has been a main source of SINA's revenues since its inception, and we are now adapting our core business to address headwinds facing PC advertising by expanding and enhancing our mobile advertising platform. Weibo is an integral component of this strategy, creating significant revenue synergies through the sharing of data and IP to drive user traffic and strengthen targeted advertising and content specifically tailored for the SINA mobile portal and apps. Our work is delivering results, and we believe our strategy will successfully position our web portal business for the long-term.

The SINA Board and management team have also overseen significant stock price appreciation, established SINA's solid balance sheet and proven its ability to help incubate and develop new businesses and business models, such as Weibo. Weibo continues to benefit from the resources provided by SINA across critical areas including technology, talent, leadership and capital as it builds on its position. The operating synergies between SINA and Weibo directly contribute to Weibo's value generating ability as part of the SINA portfolio, and we believe these efficiencies add value that would not otherwise be created on a standalone basis.

The success of our operating strategy is demonstrated by our record high non-GAAP income from operations growth of 235% year-over-year and net revenue growth of 47% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2017. SINA's relative stock performance, which has outperformed the NASDAQ Composite Index by approximately 28% and 123% over the past one- and three-year periods, respectively[1] , further reflects the success of our operating strategy and investments.

SINA HAS A RECORD OF VALUE CREATION THROUGH ROBUST CAPITAL RETURNS AND IS COMMITTED TO ENHANCING SHAREHOLDER VALUE

SINA's record of growth and value creation has been overseen by five highly qualified directors, four of whom are independent, with a wealth of relevant experience in China's internet industry, professional online media and social media businesses and finance and asset management at publicly-traded companies, including leadership and operating experience in China. Importantly, our independent director, Mr. Zhang, who is subject to re-election at the 2017 Annual General Meeting in accordance with our articles, has direct leadership experience in many of these key areas.

Additionally, Charles Chao, our Chairman and CEO, beneficially owns approximately 12% of SINA's outstanding ordinary shares, and is the largest shareholder of SINA, ensuring the Board's and management's interests are fully aligned with the interests of all shareholders. Mr. Chao purchased these shares in 2015 at an above-market price when SINA's stock price was under pressure for an extended period of time. He did so in an effort to increase shareholders' confidence in SINA and align management's interests with those of all shareholders. SINA's stock price rose on the day after Mr. Chao's purchase was announced, demonstrating shareholders' support of this initiative.

This alignment with shareholders is further demonstrated by the Company's return of approximately $1.8 billion of capital to its shareholders since 2014, which is the highest for China-based internet and technology companies listed in the U.S. SINA is executing on a prudent capital allocation plan that balances significant shareholder returns, organic and acquisitive growth investments and a strong and stable balance sheet.

Ongoing share repurchase plan

A portion of SINA's returns to shareholders has been through the execution of a $500 million share repurchase plan under which the Company has repurchased $311 million of its shares. On August 9, 2017, the Board approved an extension of the $500 million share repurchase plan until June 30, 2018, which plan was originally announced in March 2016. We expect to fund the repurchases out of our existing cash balance and execute repurchases at appropriate times.

Distribution of Weibo shares

Additional shareholder returns have been through the distribution of approximately 14.2 million Weibo shares to SINA shareholders in October 2016 and July 2017, representing more than 12% of SINA's total holdings in Weibo valued at approximately $1.5 billion.[3] Following the distribution of Weibo shares in July 2017, SINA's total equity stake in Weibo decreased from approximately 49% (or approximately 74% by voting power) to approximately 46% (or approximately 72% by voting power). Aristeia has promoted a proposal to further distribute 33 million shares of Weibo. This distribution would be taxable to U.S. shareholders, and thus could prevent shareholders from fully participating in Weibo's upside to the extent they need to sell such shares to satisfy tax obligations.

Prudent capital allocation

The SINA Board and management team also regularly explore, develop and invest in value-enhancing opportunities to increase business scale, diversify business models and increase competitiveness to generate sustained growth and return capital to shareholders. The strength of SINA's balance sheet enables the Company to be nimble when accretive and synergistic transaction opportunities arise and to avoid costly and risky financing to fund its growth needs.

This is especially important in the current environment when the Chinese government is monitoring corporate leverage. We believe SINA's balance sheet is aligned with the government's intentions and taking on leverage would create undue risk for SINA and our shareholders. As S&P highlighted in a September 21, 2017 ratings report on China, "Although [China's] credit growth had contributed to strong real GDP growth and higher asset prices, we believe it has also diminished financial stability to some extent. The recent intensification of government efforts to rein in corporate leverage could stabilize the trend of financial risk in the medium term."[4]

ARISTEIA'S PROPOSALS ARE RISKY AND POTENTIALLY VALUE DESTRUCTIVE

Aristeia has proposed a strategy to partially or fully distribute assets in exchange for cash or to engage in a change of control merger as a way to narrow SINA's trading discount to its Net Asset Value ("NAV"). We have conducted comprehensive analysis and concluded that these proposals would likely have no impact on the Company's discount to NAV and would be highly risky and potentially value destructive.

We note, and third-party financial analysts agree, that trading discounts at holding companies are common as a result of multiple factors, some of which are beyond the companies' control. A survey of listed holding companies with listed subsidiaries operating in the internet industry in China shows implied holding company trading discounts to NAV ranging from 33% to 37% in the second quarter of 2017. Importantly, a research report issued by a leading third-party financial institution recently calculated the Company's trading discount to NAV to be within the lower range of the aforementioned survey.

Our analysis further shows that to eliminate any discount to NAV, all of the free cash flow generated by SINA's subsidiaries would need to flow to the consolidated holding company level. Such a strategy would eliminate reinvestment in the subsidiary businesses, thereby destroying value over time as our subsidiaries would no longer have capital to invest in continued growth. This strategy is especially harmful for fast growing companies in a highly competitive market, such as Weibo, which require significant reinvestment to maintain a growth trajectory. In addition, remittance of all of the free cash flow generated by SINA's subsidiaries in China is contrary to the current foreign exchange control policy and implementation measures widely adopted in the People's Republic of China ("PRC"), and thus is not feasible in the foreseeable future.

SINA believes that a partial distribution would not be effective in reducing any discount to NAV. In fact, contrary to what Aristeia may allege, the announcement of SINA's distribution of Weibo shares in July 2017 had a limited impact on SINA's stock price at the time. The Company opportunistically manages this discount by using its balance sheet to repurchase shares and assist the marketplace in absorbing peaks in the NAV discount.

Regarding the sale of SINA's stake in Weibo specifically, both SINA and Weibo would incur substantial dis-synergies as a result of contractual obligations to ensure continued shared services across data, management and IP, as well as tax inefficiencies for SINA shareholders.

Furthermore, in a change of control transaction for either SINA, Weibo or SINA's other businesses, SINA would be subject to applicable PRC laws and regulations that govern merger and acquisition activities, which for the value-added telecommunication industry and the media industry, are highly complex. For instance, the PRC Ministry of Commerce requires acquisitions by foreign investors of Chinese companies engaged in industries that are crucial to national security, such as online media, to be subject to security review before consummation of any such acquisition.

In light of these facts, Aristeia's proposals clearly demonstrate Aristeia's complete lack of understanding of our business and factors affecting our industry, and as a result, Aristeia's purported "available option" for SINA to explore a sale of itself is not a viable option.

It is clear that the SINA Board and management team have delivered industry leading performance, created significant and certain value and expect additional upside from its organic growth strategy and Weibo holdings. On the other hand, Aristeia, through its financial engineering, is seeking to conduct a risky, short-term interest driven and potentially long-term value destructive process for SINA and our stake in Weibo.

A transaction for SINA or its stake in Weibo would be unlikely to succeed in China. The time, resources and capital invested to pursue a transaction with a high likelihood of failure, rather than accretive and value creating opportunities, is not in the best interests of SINA shareholders.

PROTECT YOUR INVESTMENT – VOTE "FOR" OUR SINA NOMINEE, YICHEN ZHANG

Aristeia and its two nominees lack the relevant skills, experience and understanding of SINA, the China market and public companies operating in the internet and media industries in China, as clearly demonstrated by Aristeia's proposal calling for the sale of the Company or its stake in Weibo. We believe it is inappropriate for Aristeia, an approximately 3.5% shareholder based in New York City that has traded in and out of SINA's shares over the last few years, to control nearly 30% of the Board – approximately nine times more Board representation as compared to the number of shares Aristeia owns.

After the Board evaluated the qualifications of each of Aristeia's nominees, the Board determined that the Aristeia nominees – a law school professor and a tech-startup investor – would not bring additive skills or experience to the Board and believes the Aristeia nominees would seek to implement a strategy that would threaten the investment of all other SINA shareholders. Moreover, Mr. Krause has no experience serving on the Board of a public company and may have a potential conflict of interest as a result of his personal involvement as a managing partner of PurpleSky Capital, an angel investor in Inke (映客), a company that is in direct competition with SINA. Mr. Manning already serves on three public company boards, has commitments to five other organizations and resides in Illinois, USA, and is therefore unlikely to have the necessary time to devote to SINA.

Given our focus on enhancing our long-term strategy, SINA will not support risky tactics that provide an unlikely and modest short-term benefit, but create substantial long-term risk. We do not believe that is what you want us to do, or that you would be well-served by it. We urge you to vote "AGAINST" each of Aristeia's nominees on the enclosed WHITE proxy card and to discard any proxy materials you may receive from Aristeia.


Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Research

SINA ($115.06) announced that it received a notice from Aristeia Capital LLC of nomination of two individuals for director election to SINA’s Board of Directors at its 2017 Annual General Meeting. Last night, Aristeia Capital issued a press release regarding SINA’s corporate governance and suggest several actions that SINA could do to enhance shareholder’s value:

  • A sale or merger of Sina to an acceptable buyer/partner which would allow Sina shareholders to capture a control premium for their Weibo shares, or a reverse merger in which Weibo acquires Sina.

  • A complete or material spin-off or split-off of Weibo shares to Sina shareholders.

  • A sale of Sina’s Weibo stake followed by the return of those proceeds to Sina’s shareholders.

  • An aggressive share repurchase of Sina’s undervalued shares using some of the $18+ per share of Sina’s net cash.

In response to Aristeia Capital’s notice, SINA elaborate certain actions that have been taken which contributed to shareholders’ value (details refer to the original release linked above from SINA):

  • SINA has delivered record financial results driving significant stock price appreciation...

  • SINA has returned significant capital to shareholders...

  • SINA's record of growth and value creation is being overseen by five directors with highly relevant experience...

  • The SINA Board and management team regularly explore, develop and invest in value-enhancing opportunities to increase business scale and diversify business models to generate sustained growth and return capital to shareholders…

SINA is an online media company serving China and the global Chinese communities.


Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Comments & Business Outlook
Second Quarter 2017 Financial Results 
  • Net revenues increased 47% year over year to $358.9 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 48% year over year to $356.3 million.
  • Net income attributable to SINA was $23.4 million, or $0.31 diluted net income per share attributable to SINA. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $52.7 million, or $0.70 non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA.

"We are delighted with the financial results for the second quarter of 2017." said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA. "Weibo has further strengthened its social platform network effect and delivered solid user base expansion, accelerated revenue growth and continuing operational leverage." said Mr. Chao. "For SINA business, we have continued to witness healthy growth of mobile traffic from SINA media properties and improved mobile monetization. We are also pleased to see the progression we made in our online finance business." Mr. Chao concluded.


Friday, July 7, 2017

Joint Venture

SHANGHAI, July 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Yintech Investment Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: YIN) ("Yintech" or the "Company"), a leading provider of investment and trading services for individual customers in China, today announced that it has entered into an agreement (the "Agreement") to form a financial software, information and services joint venture with SINA Corporation (NASDAQ: SINA) ("SINA"), a leading online media company serving China and the global Chinese communities.

Pursuant to the Agreement, Yintech and SINA will take a 51.0% and 49.0% equity stake, respectively, in SINA Caidao (Shanghai) Information Technology Co., Ltd. ("SINA Caidao") after completing a series of reorganization and capital increases, through which SINA Caidao's paid-in capital will be enlarged to RMB200.0 million. SINA Caidao will focus on providing financial software, information and services to individual investors seeking investments in securities, wealth management, futures and gold products. The reorganization and capital increase is expected to complete in the third quarter of 2017. SINA Caidao is expected to begin generating revenue in the fourth quarter of 2017.

"Our joint venture with SINA is another step in our strategy to become a provider of diversified investment and trading services to individuals in China," commented Mr. Wenbin Chen, Chairman and CEO of Yintech. "As we expand our service offerings, we particularly value the experience and highly successful businesses SINA has incubated as well as their extensive online media and social networking resources. Leveraging these resources and combining them with our deep understanding of, and extensive experience in serving Chinese individual investors, we are confident that our joint venture will have the support needed to rapidly grow into a market leader."


Friday, May 26, 2017

Notable Share Transactions
BEIJING, May 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SINA Corporation (the "Company" or "SINA") (SINA), a leading online media company serving China and the global Chinese communities, today announced that its board of directors has authorized and approved the Company's distribution of shares of Weibo Corporation ("Weibo") to the Company's shareholders on a pro rata basis. SINA is a controlling shareholder of Weibo. Weibo's ADSs are currently traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (WB). SINA will distribute one Weibo Class A ordinary share to the holder of each ten SINA ordinary shares. Holders of SINA ordinary shares that are settled through DTC will receive Class A ordinary shares represented by Weibo ADSs. The Weibo share distribution will be payable on or about July 10, 2017, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on June 7, 2017. Following the distribution of the Weibo shares, SINA's equity stake in Weibo will decrease from approximately 49% (or approximately 74% by voting power) currently to approximately 46% (or approximately 72% by voting power).

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Joint Venture

NEW YORK, May 23, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NABUFIT Global Inc. (NBFT), developer of a ground breaking new training portal that enhances individual workouts by providing expert advice from professional trainers, health experts and international sports stars, today announced the signing of a marketing agreement with SINA Sports, a division of SINA Corp (SINA). NABUFIT will be utilizing SINA`s services for the promotion of its NABUFIT App in China including Chinese social media management via the SINA platform and Weibo. SINA has more than 300 million visitors to their platform each month.

The twelve-month agreement allows SINA and NABUFIT to create and publish in cooperation multiple landing pages to drive traffic and obtain registered users to the NABUFIT App. SINA will also do weekly postings of NABUFIT`s workout videos on targeted areas of the SINA platform related to sports channels like soccer and running. SINA will also promote NABUFIT content weekly through SINA`s Weibo accounts controlled by SINA Sports. Additionally, SINA will have the download link to the NABUFIT App on their website(s) including related videos and content. NABUFIT will provide access to its training video content with Chinese subtitling and will make its best effort to secure special content for SINA from the NABUFIT star ambassadors.

Brian Palm Svaneeng Mertz, NABUFIT CEO said: "We are excited to announce this strategic marketing partnership with SINA as we execute on our initiative to penetrate and build out our subscriber base with China`s enormous population. With over 600,000 downloads since our launch last July and the recent launch of our premium version we are in a prime position to launch a strategic marketing plan in China. We look forward to announcing additional progress in this key market as well as corporate sponsorship partnerships and additional noteworthy Ambassadors in the future."


Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Comments & Business Outlook

First Quarter 2017 Financial Results

  • Both net revenues and non-GAAP net revenues increased 40% year over year to $278.1 million and $275.5 million, respectively.
  • Net income attributable to SINA was $38.5 million, or $0.52 diluted net income per share attributable to SINA. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $37.6 million, or $0.50 non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA.

"We started the year 2017 with a great quarter." said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA. "Weibo continued its strong momentum with accelerated growth in revenues and impressive expansion of user base." said Mr. Chao. "On the SINA media business, our performance was in line with our expectation, taking seasonality factor into account. We have further restructured our mobile media business to accelerate the pace for the mobile transition." Mr. Chao added.


Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Comments & Business Outlook

Third Quarter 2016 Financial Results

  • Net revenues increased 21% year over year to $274.9 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 22% year over year to $272.3 million.
  • Net income attributable to SINA was $146.5 million, or $1.90 diluted net income per share. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $43.7 million, or $0.56 diluted net income per share.

"We are delighted to have another solid quarter." said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA. "SINA portal has further implemented its mobile strategy, with significant growth of mobile traffic from SINA News Application. Mobile monetization for portal has further enhanced, with 50% of the portal advertising revenues coming from mobile devices." Mr. Chao added.

"With strong growth in user base, revenues and profitability, Weibo has demonstrated its platform value with the network effect of the content ecosystem and strong monetization capability." said Mr. Chao. "We take great pride that Weibo is returning to the center stage of Chinese Internet market."


Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Notable Share Transactions
SHANGHAI, Aug. 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SINA Corporation (the "Company" or "SINA") (SINA), a leading online media company serving China and the global Chinese communities, today announced that its board of directors has authorized and approved the Company's distribution of shares of Weibo Corporation ("Weibo") to the Company's shareholders on a pro rata basis. Weibo is a majority-owned subsidiary of SINA, and its ADSs are currently traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (WB). SINA will distribute one Weibo Class A ordinary share to the holder of each ten SINA ordinary shares. Holders of SINA ordinary shares that are settled through DTC will receive Class A ordinary shares represented by Weibo ADSs. The Weibo share distribution will be payable on or about October 12, 2016, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on September 12, 2016. Following the distribution of the Weibo shares, SINA's equity stake in Weibo will decrease from approximately 54% (or approximately 78% by voting power) currently to approximately 51% (or approximately 75% by voting power).

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Notable Share Transactions

SHANGHAI, December 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Jupai Holdings Limited ("Jupai" or the "Company") (NYSE: JP), a leading third-party wealth management service provider in China, today announced that it has entered into a share purchase agreement with each of Julius Baer Investment Ltd. ("Julius Baer"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Julius Baer Group Limited (SIX: BAER), a leading Swiss private banking group, and SINA Hong Kong Limited ("SINA"), a wholly owned subsidiary of SINA Corporation (NASDAQ: SINA), a leading Chinese online media company.

As part of the agreement with Julius Baer, Jupai will issue to Julius Baer 9,591,000 ordinary shares (equivalent to 1,598,500 ADSs), which represents approximately 4.99% of the Company's total outstanding share capital immediately upon the completion of the transaction, at $1.83 per share (equivalent to $11 per ADS). Under the agreement with SINA, the Company will issue to SINA, at the same price, 2,880,000 ordinary shares (equivalent to 480,000 ADSs) representing approximately 1.5% of the Company's total outstanding share capital immediately after the completion of the transaction. SINA's beneficial ownership in Jupai will be 11.35% immediately upon completion of the transaction. The aggregate transaction value of this private placement is approximately $22.9 million. The private placement to Julius Baer and SINA is expected to close in January 2016.

Jianda Ni, the Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Jupai, commented, "Julius Baer is a global leading private wealth management bank with operations spanning many countries and regions. This investment is a strong endorsement of Jupai's brand and management strength. We expect the cooperation between our two companies will further diversify Jupai's product categories and add more overseas financial products to our existing product lines, allowing us to better meet the demand for overseas asset allocation among Jupai's clients. In addition, Julius Baer's valuable experience in the wealth management industry will help to further improve the expertise of Jupai's financial advisors."

Boris Collardi, CEO of Julius Baer said, "Given the importance of Asia as a key region for growth, Julius Baer has over the last 10 years built up its Asian business to become its second home market. Participating in Jupai's private placement will provide Julius Baer with valuable insight into one of the most successful players in Chinese onshore wealth management and further strengthen our expertise in China, whilst providing Jupai access to our global investment know-how."


Thursday, November 19, 2015

Comments & Business Outlook
Third Quarter 2015 Financial Results
  • Net revenues increased 14% year over year to $226.3 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 14% year over year to $223.7 million.
  • Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $24.4 million, or $0.39 non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA.

"We are pleased with SINA's overall results in the macro headwinds. For Weibo's business, we continue to see strong performance on both operational and financial fronts. Weibo continues to be on track to execute its core strategies to grow user base and enhance user engagement, capitalize the shift to mobile, and optimize advertising offerings to better serve the ever-growing customer community at various dimensions. " said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA.  

"For SINA's portal business, taking macro factors into account, our performance was largely in line with our expectation. We are encouraged by the progresses we made on monetizing mobile traffic and expanding our customer community. In addition, we will persist with our business endeavor to diversify our business models and implement the vertical strategy." Mr. Chao added.


Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Comments & Business Outlook

Second Quarter 2015 Financial Results

Net revenues increased 14% year over year to $213.6 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 14% year over year to $211.0 million.

  • Net income attributable to SINA was $11.7 million, or $0.19 diluted net income per share attributable to SINA. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $4.0 million, or $0.06 non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA.

"We are delighted that SINA has further implemented its vertical and mobile strategies and launched a set of constructive corporate actions to better leverage SINA's brand equity, capture business opportunities and give momentum to the capital market," said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA. "We have great confidence in the core business of the Company and the long-term growth we could achieve. On the mobile front, we have continually witnessed robust growth in user traffic and improved monetization for the past quarters." Mr. Chao added.

"On the Weibo side, we continued to show strong momentum in both operational and financial fronts. In the second quarter 2015, Weibo recorded a non-GAAP earnings of $10.9 million, well above the street consensus. We are confident that with Weibo's firm execution in growing user base and engagement, capitalizing on the mobile strategy and leveraging partnership with Alibaba to enable e-commerce transactions, the powerful social media platform and cohesive ecosystem that we have built can better fulfill the needs of users, customers and merchants at various dimensions and can generate sustainable earnings and cash flows and create long-term value to our shareholders." Mr. Chao concluded.


Friday, June 19, 2015

Acquisition Activity

SHANGHAI, June 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- E-House (China) Holdings Limited ("E-House" or the "Company") (EJ), a leading real estate services company in China, today announced  that the independent special committee of the Company's Board of Directors (the "Independent Committee"), formed to consider a non-binding "going-private" proposal by Mr. Xin Zhou, co-chairman of the Board and chief executive officer of E-House, and Mr. Neil Nanpeng Shen, a member of the Board, was informed that SINA Corporation ("SINA") (SINA), an existing shareholder of the Company, had joined the buyer group by entering into a consortium agreement with Mr. Zhou and Mr. Shen (together with SINA, the "Consortium Members"), pursuant to which they have agreed to, among other things, form a consortium to work exclusively with one another to undertake the "going-private" transaction to acquire all the outstanding shares of the Company other than the shares owned by the Consortium Members or their affiliates (the "Transaction").   

The Consortium Members and their respective affiliates currently own, in the aggregate, approximately 48% of the Company's total issued and outstanding shares.

E-House was also informed that SINA has agreed to exchange all the E-House shares held by SINA at the closing of the Transaction (the "Closing") for a portion of the ordinary shares of Leju Holdings Limited ("Leju") held by E-House at the Closing, based on an exchange ratio determined in accordance with a mutually agreed formula. Leju is a majority owned subsidiary of E-House and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.


Monday, June 1, 2015

Notable Share Transactions

SHANGHAI, June 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- SINA Corporation (NASDAQ: SINA) ("SINA" or the "Company"), a leading online media company serving China and the global Chinese communities, today announced that it has entered into a legally binding subscription agreement with Mr. Charles Chao, Chairman of SINA's board of directors and Chief Executive Officer, for the issuance and sale of 11,000,000 newly issued ordinary shares of the Company to Mr. Chao. Pursuant to the agreement, Mr. Chao will subscribe for and purchase directly or through a special purpose vehicle beneficially owned and controlled by him, 11,000,000 newly issued ordinary shares of SINA for a total purchase price of approximately US$456 million in cash. The per share purchase price of US$41.49 represents the average closing trading price of SINA's ordinary shares for the 30 trading days ended May 29, 2015 and is higher than the closing trading price on May 29, 2015, the last trading day before the signing of the subscription agreement. Mr. Chao has agreed to subject all the shares he or his affiliate will acquire in the transaction to a contractual lock-up restriction for six months after the closing. The closing is expected to take place upon satisfaction of customary closing conditions.


Friday, May 15, 2015

Comments & Business Outlook

First Quarter 2015 Financial Results

  • Net revenues increased 8% year over year to $184.6 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 9% year over year to $182 million.
  • Net loss attributable to SINA was $10.3 million, or $0.18 diluted net loss per share attributable to SINA. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $3 million, or $0.04 non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA.

"We are delighted that Weibo continued to show strong momentum in both operational and financial fronts." said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA. "Weibo's mobile strategy has continued to deliver impressive results in both user traffic and revenue growth. With Weibo's firm execution in user growth, capitalizing on the shift to mobile by rolling out more mobile centric and social advertising products, we believe that the powerful social media platform and cohesive ecosystem that we have built up will better fulfill both users' and customers' needs at various dimensions. On the portal side, we are experiencing a critical transformative period to revamp our legacy business and diversify our business models through implementation of vertical and mobile strategies. We have seen encouraging results from certain vertical areas and mobile forefronts. We are confident that we can further leverage SINA's brand to capture more business opportunities and achieve long-term growth." Mr. Chao added.


Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Comments & Business Outlook

SHANGHAI, April 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- SINA Corporation (NASAQ: SINA) (the "Company"), a leading online media company serving China and the global Chinese communities, today announced that it has adopted a continuation of its previous shareholder rights plan (the "Continued Rights Plan").

The Company adopted the Continued Rights Plan to preserve, for the Company's shareholders, the long-term value of the Company in the event of a potential takeover which appears to the Board of Directors of the Company to be coercive or unfair or otherwise not in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. Initially, the rights to purchase ordinary shares of the Company (the "Rights") will be represented by the Company's ordinary share certificates, will not be traded separately from the ordinary shares and will not be exercisable.

The Rights will become exercisable only if a person or group obtains ownership of 10% or more of the Company's ordinary shares or enters into an acquisition transaction at which time each Right would enable the holder of such Right to buy additional ordinary shares of the Company.

Following the acquisition of 10% or more of the Company's ordinary shares, the holders of Rights (other than the acquiring person or group) will be entitled to purchase from the Company ordinary shares of the Company at half price. In the event of a subsequent acquisition of the Company, the holders will be entitled to buy ordinary shares of the acquiring entity at half price. The exercise price of each Right is US$150, subject to adjustment.

Generally, the Company may redeem the Rights for $0.001 per Right, subject to adjustment, or terminate the Continued Rights Plan at any time before (or within 10 business days following) the acquisition by a person or group of 10% or more of the Company's ordinary shares.

The Company will file a Form 8-A with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that will contain additional information regarding the terms and conditions of the Continued Rights Plan, which will be available on the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov). Following the record date, SINA also will mail to each shareholder a letter containing further details regarding the Continued Rights Plan.


Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Comments & Business Outlook

Fourth Quarter 2014 Financial Results

  • Net revenues increased 7% year over year to $211.1 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 8% year over year to $208.5 million, within the Company's guidance of between $204 million and $210 million.
  • Net income attributable to SINA was $59.8 million, or $0.90 diluted net income per share attributable to SINA. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $15.9 million, or $0.24 non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA.

"We are delighted that Weibo closed the year 2014 with solid performance on both operational and financial fronts" said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA. "As we enter into 2015, we are excited about the various opportunities unfolding ahead of us on both Weibo and portal sides. We are also confident that our initiatives in revamping our legacy business will start to take shape and form the foundation for longer term growth." Mr. Chao added.

Business Outlook

In the year 2015, the Company will continue to execute a number of major initiatives to renovate its portal business in order to build a solid foundation for long term growth. Many of these transformative endeavors may take time to become meaningful revenue contributors, making it difficult for Management to predict the inflection point for a sustainable growth. As a result, the Company believes that an estimated range of annual revenue targets would be more reliable than quarterly revenue guidance. For the year 2015, SINA estimates that its non-GAAP net revenues will be between $800 million and $900 million, which exclude the recognition of $10.4 million in deferred license revenues from E-House. This forecast reflects SINA's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.


Monday, November 17, 2014

Comments & Business Outlook

SHANGHAI, November 17, 2014 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- E-House (China) Holdings Limited ("E-House" or the "Company") (NYSE: EJ), a leading real estate services company in China, today announced that it will, together with other shareholders, provide additional capital for Shanghai Weidian Information and Technology, Ltd. ("Weidian"), which provides mobile community value-added services through the mobile app Shi Hui. As a result, registered capital of Weidian will increase from approximately US$40 million to US$100 million. Weidian was jointly founded by E-House, SINA Corporation (NASDAQ: SINA), Focus Media Holding Limited, and Shentong Express Co., Ltd. E-House has and will retain a controlling stake of 55% in Weidian.

In July of 2014, E-House started its community value-added services platform with the launch of Shi Hui, a local community-based mobile app, in Beijing and Shanghai. Users download Shi Hui and select their residential compounds, office buildings and/or schools and can win promotional products and free services on a daily basis, find nearby restaurants, stores and other service providers, obtain discount coupons, join discounted group purchases, and participate in chat groups with people in the same communities.

In its first four months, the Shi Hui app has gained more than 1.25 million registered users in Beijing and Shanghai, 20% to 30% of which are daily active users. The Shi Hui app currently aggregates more than 400,000 service providers in Beijing and Shanghai, out of which over 100,000 are verified service providers. In addition, during the same period more than 3,700 service providers have signed up to offer Shi Hui users free products and services worth a total value of more than US$160 million.

Xin Zhou, E-House's co-chairman and CEO, said, "The remarkable success of Shi Hui since its launch in Beijing and Shanghai gives us strong confidence in its national expansion. With the additional capital injection into Weidian, we plan to launch the Shi Hui app for an additional eight cities, namely Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Xi'an, Chongqing and Suzhou, by the end of this year."


Friday, November 14, 2014

Comments & Business Outlook

Third Quarter 2014 Financial Results 

  • Net revenues increased 8% year over year to $198.6 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 9% year over year to $196.0 million, within the Company's guidance of between $193 million and $199 million.
  • Net income attributable to SINA was $133.6 million, or $1.91 diluted net income per share attributable to SINA. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $13.1 million, or $0.19 non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA.

"In the third quarter of 2014, Weibo continued to show strong momentum in both revenue and user growth. Weibo's third-quarter revenues grew 58% year over year to $84.1 million, while monthly active users in September grew 36% from a year ago to 167 million," said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA. "On the portal side, we are making strides to revamp our online business with particular emphasis in business verticalization and mobile," Mr. Chao added.

Business Outlook

SINA estimates that its non-GAAP net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2014 will be between $204 million and $210 million, which exclude the recognition of $2.6 million in deferred license revenues from E-House. The foregoing forecast reflects SINA's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change


Friday, August 15, 2014

Comments & Business Outlook

Second Quarter 2014 Financial Results

  • Net revenues increased 19% year over year to $187.0 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 21% year over year to $184.4 million, exceeding the Company's guidance between $177 million and $182 million.
  • Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $12.1 million, or $0.17 non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA.

"We are pleased with SINA's second quarter results." said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA. "Weibo is executing well with strong financial performance, solid traffic growth and measurable progress toward building out a social commerce platform and offering native ads to large brand customers. On the portal side, we are making progress in building new businesses and leveraging SINA's brand and media influence to capture mobile and vertical opportunities."

Business Outlook

SINA estimates that its non-GAAP net revenues for the third quarter of 2014 will be between $193 million and $199 million, which excludes the recognition of $2.6 million in deferred license revenues from E-House. The foregoing forecast reflects SINA's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.


Thursday, May 22, 2014

Comments & Business Outlook

First Quarter 2014 Financial Results

  • For the first quarter of 2014, SINA reported net revenues of $171.5 million, compared to $126.0 million for the same period last year.
  • Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA grew 617% year over year to $11.1 million, or $0.15 non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA.

"We are delighted to report strong revenue growth in the first quarter of 2014 driven by our continuing success in Weibo monetization," said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA. "The successful separate listing of Weibo on the NASDAQ Global Select Market in April opened a new chapter for SINA. The more independent structure will help Weibo to better realize its long-term growth potential and create greater value for our shareholders. Looking forward, we hope to repeat our past successes of leveraging SINA's brand equity and market influence to build new businesses. We believe there is significant value creation potential by leveraging SINA's portal assets to build leading verticals and smartly deploying SINA's own cash pile of over $1.8 billion."

Business Outlook

SINA estimates that its non-GAAP net revenues for the second quarter of 2014 will be between $177 million and $182 million, including advertising revenues to be between $152 million and $155 million and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues to be between $25 million and $27 million, which assumes that non-Weibo, non-advertising revenues may decline approximately $6 million from the prior quarter.

Non-GAAP net revenues and non-GAAP non-advertising revenue estimates exclude the recognition of $2.6 million in deferred license revenues related to SINA's equity method investment in E-House. The foregoing revenue outlook is the Company's best estimate based on its current assessment of ‎the potential impact resulting from the measures the Company has undertaken recently to address the Internet publication and video license matter. The foregoing forecast reflects SINA's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.


Monday, May 5, 2014

Investor Alert
SHANGHAI, May 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- SINA Corporation (the "Company" or "SINA") (NASDAQ GS: SINA), a leading Internet media company serving China and the global Chinese communities, today announced that it received two notices from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television stating that the Company's Internet Publication License and License for Online Transmission of Audio-Visual Programs would be revoked due to certain unhealthy and indecent content from third-parties or by users on its portal, i.e., on its online reading channel book.sina.com.cn and on its website www.sina.com.cn. The Company also received a notice from the Beijing Municipal Cultural Market Administrative Law Enforcement Unit, which imposed an administrative fine of RMB5,085,183 (US$815,038) on the Company in connection with the content referred to above. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of these administrative penalties on its business operations and its administrative options and intends to fully cooperate with the relevant government authorities.

Comments & Business Outlook

SHANGHAI, May 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- SINA Corporation (the "Company" or "SINA") (NASDAQ GS: SINA), a leading Internet media company serving China and the global Chinese communities, today announced preliminary selected unaudited financial results for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2014. The preliminary results are subject to change as the Company is still in the process of finalizing the financial results for the quarter.

For the first quarter of 2014, the Company now estimates its preliminary unaudited financial results to be as follows:

  • Total net revenues* to be approximately $171 million, including advertising revenues of approximately $135 million and non-advertising revenues of approximately $36 million.
  • Net loss attributable to SINA** to be approximately $33 million, or $0.52 diluted net loss per share attributable to SINA.
  • Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA to be approximately $11 million, or $0.15 diluted non-GAAP net income per share attributable to SINA.

* Total net revenues include approximately $4.1 million related to the deferred revenues from the license agreements resulting from the E-House/CRIC transaction.

** Net loss attributable to SINA is expected to include a non-cash loss of approximately $40.2 million related to the change in fair value of investor option liability, which was mainly due to Weibo Corporation, a subsidiary of the Company, going public in April 2014. This item is not reflected in the Company's non-GAAP net income.

The Company's non-GAAP income excludes stock-based compensation, amortization of intangible assets, net of tax, convertible debt issuance cost, recognition of deferred revenue in relation to certain equity investment, gain/loss resulting from the disposal, purchase or impairment of a business, investment or non-controlling interest in a subsidiary and change in fair value of investor option liability.

The Company plans to report its unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2014 on or around May 21, 2014.


Friday, April 25, 2014

Investor Alert

SHANGHAI, April‎ 25,‎‎‎ 2014‎ /PRNewswire/ -- SINA Corporation (the "Company" or "SINA") (NASDAQ GS: SINA), a leading Internet media company serving China and the global Chinese communities, today announced that it had received three notices from Beijing Municipal Cultural Market Administrative Law Enforcement Unit concerning alleged violations of PRC regulations on the Company's distribution of certain unhealthy and indecent literary content on its online reading channel book.sina.com.cn and certain unhealthy and indecent video content uploaded by users on its website www.sina.com.cn.  The Company was informed that as administrative penalties for these violations, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television proposes to revoke the Company's Internet Publication License and the License for Online Transmission of Audio-Visual Programs, and Beijing Municipal Cultural Market Administrative Law Enforcement Unit proposes to impose an administrative fine for these violations. It is the Company's understanding that these administrative penalties are part of the PRC government's campaign to clean up unhealthy and indecent content on the Internet in China. The Company intends to fully cooperate with the relevant government authorities and take appropriate actions as necessary.


Friday, April 11, 2014

Notable Share Transactions
SHANGHAI, April 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- SINA Corporation (the "Company" or "SINA") (NASDAQ GS: SINA), a leading Internet media company serving China and the global Chinese communities, today announced that the board of directors of the Company has approved a new share repurchase program whereby SINA is authorized to repurchase its own ordinary shares with an aggregate value of up to US$500 million. The Company expects to fund the repurchase out of its existing cash balance. The share repurchase may be effected on the open market at prevailing market prices and/or in negotiated transactions off the market from time to time as market conditions warrant and will be implemented in accordance with applicable requirements of Rule 10b5-1 and/or Rule 10b-18 under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Comments & Business Outlook

Fourth Quarter 2013 Financial Results

  • Net revenues increased 42% year over year to $197.0 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 43% year over year to$192.3 million, within the Company's guidance between $190.0 million and $194.0 million.
  • Non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA for the fourth quarter of 2013 was $0.47, compared to $0.13 for the same period last year.

"The strong performance of Weibo's advertising and value-added services in the fourth quarter allowed us to end 2013 with strong top line and bottom line growth." said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA. "As we enter 2014, we will continue to focus on growing Weibo's user base and user engagement through product innovation, as well as seizing opportunities to enable us for long term growth."

Business Outlook

SINA estimates that its non-GAAP net revenues for the first quarter of 2014 will be between $162 million and $167 million, including advertising revenues to be between $133 million and $136 million and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues to be between $29 million and $31 million. Non-GAAP net revenues and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues exclude the recognition of $4.7 millionin deferred license revenues related to SINA's equity investment in E-House/CRIC.


Friday, November 15, 2013

Deal Flow

SHANGHAI, Nov. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SINA Corporation (NASDAQ: SINA) ("SINA" or the "Company"), a leading Internet media company serving China and the global Chinese communities, today announced the pricing of US$700 million in aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2018 (the "notes"). The notes were offered to qualified institutional buyers in reliance on Rule 144A under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). The Company has granted to one of the initial purchasers a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional US$100 million principal amount of notes solely to cover over-allotments, if any. The notes will be convertible into the Company's ordinary shares ("ordinary shares"), at the option of the holders, based on an initial conversion rate of 8.0841 of ordinary shares per US$1,000 principal amount of notes (which is equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately US$123.70 per ordinary share and represents an approximately 45% conversion premium over the closing trading price of the Company's ordinary shares on November 14, 2013, which was US$85.31 per share). The conversion rate is subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events. Holders of the notes may convert their notes in integral multiples of US$1,000 principal amount at any time prior to the close of business on the second business day immediately preceding the maturity date. SINA will not have the right to redeem the notes prior to maturity except for certain circumstances involving changes in the tax laws for the relevant taxing jurisdiction. Holders of the notes will have the right to require the Company to repurchase for cash all or part of their notes on December 1, 2016 or upon the occurrence of certain fundamental changes at a repurchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, the repurchase date.

The notes will bear interest at a rate of 1.00% per year, payable semiannually in arrears on June 1 and December 1 of each year, beginning on June 1, 2014. The notes will mature on December 1, 2018, unless previously repurchased or converted in accordance with their terms prior to such date.

The Company plans to use $100 million of the net proceeds from the offering to concurrently repurchase its own outstanding ordinary shares. The remainder of the net proceeds of the offering will be used for general corporate purposes, including working capital needs and potential acquisition of complementary businesses.


Thursday, November 14, 2013

Notable Share Transactions

SHANGHAI, Nov. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SINA Corporation (NASDAQ: SINA) ("SINA" or the "Company"), a leading Internet media company serving China and the global Chinese communities, today announced that it proposes to offer up to US$600 million in aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2018 (the "notes"), subject to market conditions. The conversion rate and other terms of the notes have not been finalized and will be determined at the time of pricing of the offering. The Company intends to grant to the initial purchaser a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional US$90 million principal amount of notes solely to cover over-allotments, if any. The notes will be convertible into the Company's ordinary shares ("ordinary shares"), at the option of the holders, in integral multiples of US$1,000 principal amount, at any time prior to the close of business on the second business day immediately preceding the maturity date. SINA will not have the right to redeem the notes prior to maturity except for certain circumstances involving changes in the tax laws for the relevant taxing jurisdiction. Holders of the notes will have the right to require the Company to repurchase for cash all or part of their notes on December 1, 2016 or upon the occurrence of certain fundamental changes at a repurchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, the repurchase date.

The Company plans to use $100 million of the net proceeds from the offering to concurrently repurchase its own outstanding ordinary shares. The remainder of the net proceeds of the offering will be used for general corporate purposes, including working capital needs and potential acquisition of complementary businesses.


Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Comments & Business Outlook

Third Quarter 2013 Financial Results

  • Net revenues increased 21% year over year to $184.6 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 22% year over year to $179.9 million, reaching the high end of the Company's guidance between $176.0 million and $180.0 million.
  • Non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA for the third quarter of 2013 was $0.42, compared to $0.17 for the same period last year.

"We are pleased with our results for the third quarter with significant growth in profitability driven primarily by strong momentum in Weibo monetization," said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA. "We are at the dawn of leveraging user behaviors to provide more interesting and relevant advertising and services. Our efforts to diversify Weibo's monetization while continuing to invest and innovate SINA's offerings are seeing not only revenue acceleration but also continuing profit margin expansion."

Business Outlook

SINA estimates that its non-GAAP net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2013 will be between $190 million and $194 million, including advertising revenues to be between $160 million and $162 million and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues to be between $30 million and $32 million. Non-GAAP net revenues and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues exclude the recognition of $4.7 million in deferred license revenues related to SINA's equity investment in E-House/CRIC.


Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Comments & Business Outlook

Second Quarter 2013 Financial Results

  • Net revenues increased 20% year over year to $157.5 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 20% year over year to$152.8 million, exceeding the Company's guidance between $143.0 million and $147.0 million.
  • Net loss attributable to SINA for the second quarter of 2013 was $11.5 million, compared to a net income of $33.2 million for the same period last year.
  • Diluted net loss per share attributable to SINA for the second quarter of 2013 was $0.17, compared to a diluted net income per share of $0.49 for the same period last year.
  • Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA for the second quarter of 2013 was $14.2 million, compared to $3.7 million for the same period last year.
  • Non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA for the second quarter of 2013 was $0.21, compared to $0.05 for the same period last year.

"I'm pleased with SINA's performance in the second quarter." said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA. "Although the macro-economic conditions in China remain uncertain, our strategy to diversify SINA's revenue stream to beyond big-brand advertisers and to leverage Weibo's continued traffic growth to develop social and mobile advertising as well as value-added services is placing SINA in a good position for more profitable revenue growth while making heavy investments for the future."

Business Outlook

SINA estimates that its non-GAAP net revenues for the third quarter of 2013 will be between $176 million and $180 million, including advertising revenues to be between $151 million and $153 million and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues to be between $25 million and $27 million. This assumes the low-margin MVAS revenues to decline approximately $6 million sequentially. Non-GAAP net revenues and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues exclude the recognition of $4.7 million in deferred license revenues related to SINA's equity investment in E-House/CRIC.


Friday, May 17, 2013

Comments & Business Outlook

First Quarter 2013 Financial Results

  • Net revenues increased 19% year over year to $126.0 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 19% year over year to$121.3 million, exceeding the Company's guidance between $115.0 million and $119.0 million.
  • Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $1.5 million, or $0.02 non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA.

"As we start 2013, we are making good progress in transitioning from a PC-centric to a mobile-centric Internet company with new product launches and improved monetization," said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA. "In April, we formed a strategic alliance with Alibaba Group to catapult us into social commerce. By partnering with Alibaba, Weibo is well positioned to play a key role in the future of e-commerce, particularly in mobile commerce as we explore ways for our users to search, share and buy the goods and services of the millions of merchants on Taobao and Tmall."

Business Outlook

SINA estimates that its non-GAAP net revenues for the second quarter of 2013 will be between $143 million and $147 million, including advertising revenues to be between $117 million and $119 million, and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues to be between $26 million and $28 million. Non-GAAP net revenues and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues exclude the recognition of$4.7 million in deferred license revenues related to SINA's equity investment in E-House/CRIC


Monday, April 29, 2013

Comments & Business Outlook

SHANGHAI, April 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- SINA Corporation (NASDAQ GS: SINA) ("SINA" or the "Company"), a leading online media company serving China and the global Chinese communities, announced today that it has reached an agreement on a strategic alliance between several entities affiliated with SINA, including PRC subsidiaries of Weibo Corporation ("Weibo"), and several entities affiliated with Alibaba Group ("Alibaba"), including Taobao (China) Software Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang Tmall.com Technology Co., Ltd., to jointly explore social commerce and develop innovative marketing solutions to enable merchants on Alibaba e-commerce platforms to better connect and build relationships with Weibo users.

The two companies will cooperate in the areas of user account connectivity, data exchange, online payment and online marketing, among other things, and will explore new business models for social commerce based on the interactions of the hundreds of millions of users on Weibo and on Alibaba's e-commerce platforms. The strategic alliance is expected to generate approximately $380 million in advertising and social commerce services revenues in aggregate for Weibo over the next three years.

Separately, the Company announced that Alibaba, through a wholly owned subsidiary, has invested $586 million to purchase preferred and ordinary shares representing approximately 18% of Weibo on a fully-diluted basis. SINA has also granted an option to Alibaba to enable Alibaba to increase its ownership in Weibo to 30% on a fully-diluted basis at a mutually agreed valuation within a certain period of time in the future.

"We are excited to partner with the largest e-commerce platform in China to develop social commerce. We believe e-commerce will play a vital role in building an eco-system around Weibo's open platform," said Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of SINA. "Weibo and Alibaba's e-commerce platforms are natural partners. Together we provide a unique proposition not only to existing online merchants, but also to individuals or businesses, who wish to offer products and services on social networking platform to take advantage of the traffic shift toward social and mobile Internet."

"We believe that this strategic alliance helps to create a stronger Weibo. It affirms our view of the vitality and importance of social media in unleashing value in e-commerce activities. We believe that the cooperation of our two robust platforms will bring unique and valuable services to Weibo users, as well as making the mobile Internet a core part of Alibaba's strategy," said Jack Ma, Chairman of Alibaba.


Thursday, August 16, 2012

Comments & Business Outlook

Second Quarter 2012 Highlights

  • Net revenues increased 11% year over year to $131.6 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 11% year over year to $126.9 million, within the Company's guidance between $126.0 million and $129.0 million.
  • Advertising revenues grew 12% year over year to $103.1 million, within the Company's guidance between $103.0 million and $105.0 million.
  • Non-advertising revenues increased 5% year over year to $28.5 million. Non-GAAP non-advertising revenues increased 6% year over year to $23.8 million, within the Company's guidance between $23.0 million and $24.0 million.
  • Net income attributable to SINA was $33.2 million, or $0.49 diluted net income per share attributable to SINA. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $3.7 million, or $0.05 non-GAAP diluted net income per share vs. $0.20 in prior year period.

"We are pleased to continue to grow SINA's online advertising business despite a challenging macroeconomic environment in China," said Charles Chao, CEO of SINA. "Our investment in Weibo.com is showing continued traffic momentum, which helps strengthen SINA's brand, media influence and high-end user reach as well as positions SINA to grow market share in online advertising," Mr. Chao added.

Business Outlook

SINA estimates that its non-GAAP net revenues for the third quarter of 2012 will be between $145 million and $148 million, with advertising revenues to be between $120 million and $122 million, representing a year-over-year increase between 19% and 21%, and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues to be between $25 million and $26 million, representing a year-over-year increase between 2% and 6%. Non-GAAP net revenues and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues exclude the recognition of $4.7 million in deferred license revenue related to SINA's equity investment in CRIC/E-House.


Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Comments & Business Outlook

First Quarter 2012 Highlights

  • Net revenues increased 6% year over year to $106.2 million. Non-GAAP net revenues increased 6% year over year to $101.5 million, within the Company's guidance of between $101.0 million and $104.0 million.
  • Advertising revenues grew 9% year over year to $78.5 million, within the Company's guidance of between$78.0 million and $80.0 million.
  • Non-advertising revenues were $27.7 million, unchanged year over year. Non-GAAP non-advertising revenues decreased 1% year over year to $23.0 million, within the Company's guidance of between $23.0 million and $24.0 million.
  • Net loss attributable to SINA was $13.7 million, or $0.21 diluted net loss per share attributable to SINA. Non-GAAP net loss attributable to SINA was $14.0 million, or $0.21 non-GAAP diluted net loss per share attributable to SINA.

"Our brand advertising business got off to a relatively slow start in the first quarter due to the softening of macroeconomic conditions in China," said Charles Chao, CEO of SINA. "Although we expect macroeconomic headwinds to continue into the second quarter, we have begun test trials of Weibo brand advertising, which is powered by a social interest graph recommendation engine, and expect this new product offering to have a meaningful impact on our brand advertising business in the second half of this year. The initial feedback from advertisers on our Weibo advertising is encouraging, and we believe it is critical that SINA continues its significant investments in social media and related initiatives," Mr. Chao added.

Business Outlook

SINA estimates that its non-GAAP net revenues for the second quarter of 2012 will be between$126 million and $129 million, with advertising revenues to be between $103 million and $105 million, representing a year-over-year increase between 12% to 14%, and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues to be between $23 million and $24 million, representing a year-over-year increase between 2% and 7%. Non-GAAP net revenues and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues exclude the recognition of $4.7 million in deferred license revenue related to SINA's equity investment in CRIC.


Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Comments & Business Outlook

Fourth Quarter 2011 Highlights

  • Net revenues grew 21% year over year to $133.4 million. Non-GAAP net revenues grew 23% year over year to$128.7 million, within the Company's guidance of between $128.0 million and $131.0 million.
  • Advertising revenues grew 26% year over year to a historical high of $103.7 million, within the Company's guidance of between $103 million and $105 million.
  • Non-advertising revenues grew 8% year over year to $29.7 million. Non-GAAP non-advertising revenues grew 11% year over year to $25.0 million, within the Company's guidance of between $25.0 million and $26.0 million.
  • Net income attributable to SINA was $9.3 million, or $0.14 diluted net income per share attributable to SINA. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $14.0 million, or $0.21 non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA.

Business Outlook

SINA estimates that its non-GAAP net revenues for the first quarter of 2012 will be between $101 million and $104 million, with advertising revenues to be between $78 million and $80 million and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues to be between $23 million and $24 million. Non-GAAP net revenues and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues exclude the recognition of $4.7 million in deferred license revenue related to SINA's equity investment in CRIC.


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Comments & Business Outlook

Second Quarter 2011 Highlights

  • Net revenues grew 20% year over year to $119.0 million. Non-GAAP net revenues grew 21% year over year to $114.3 million, within the Company's guidance of between $112 million and $115 million.
  • Advertising revenues grew 26% year over year to a record $91.8 million, reaching the high end of the Company's guidance of between $90 million and $92 million.
  • Non-advertising revenues grew 3% year over year to $27.2 million. Non-GAAP non-advertising revenues grew 4% year over year to $22.5 million, within the Company's guidance of between $22 million and $23 million.
  • Net income attributable to SINA for the second quarter of 2011 was $10.0 million, or $0.15 diluted net income per share attributable to SINA. Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA was $13.3 million, or $0.20 non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA.

"SINA's brand advertising business was robust in the second quarter, despite growing on top of a large base, in part benefiting from the elevation of SINA's media brand as the popularity of Weibo.com spread in China," said Charles Chao, CEO of SINA, "Launched less than two years ago, Weibo.com has become an online phenomenon with registered accounts recently surpassing 200 million."

Business Outlook

SINA estimates that its non-GAAP net revenues for the third quarter of 2011 will be between $123 million and $126 million, with advertising revenues to be between $100million and $102 million and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues to be between $23 million and $24 million. 

Non-GAAP net revenues and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues exclude the recognition of $4.7 million in deferred license revenue related to SINA's equity investment in CRIC.


Sunday, August 7, 2011

Liquidity Requirements
We believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments balance is sufficient to fund our operating activities, capital expenditures and other obligations for at least the next twelve months. However, we may decide to enhance our liquidity position or increase our cash reserve for future acquisitions via additional capital and/or finance funding.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Comments & Business Outlook

First Quarter Results:

  • Net revenues grew 18% year over year to $100.2 million.  Non-GAAP net revenues grew 19% year over year to $95.5 million, reaching the high end of the Company's previous guidance of between $93 million and $96 million.
  • Advertising revenues grew 33% year over year to $72.3million, within the Company's previous guidance of between $71 million and $73 million.
  • Non-advertising revenues decreased 9% year over year to $27.9 million.  Non-GAAP non-advertising revenues decreased 11% year over year to $23.2 million, exceeding the previous guidance of between $22 million and $23 million.
  • Net income attributable to SINA for the first quarter of 2011 was $15.0 million, or $0.23 diluted net income per share attributable to SINA.  Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA decreased 24% year over year to $16.9 million, or $0.25 non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA.

"SINA's online advertising growth was strong in the first quarter, despite a high comparison basis from last year" said Charles Chao, CEO of SINA, "The momentum for Weibo adoption is building across China.  With the launch of the official Weibo.com, registered users for Weibo recently surpassed 140 million.  We hope to ride this momentum and further expand Weibo's user base and user stickiness by significantly increasing our investment in the coming quarters."  

SINA estimates that its non-GAAP net revenues for the second quarter of 2011 will be between $112 million and $115 million, with advertising revenues to be between $90 million and $92 million and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues to be between $22 million and $23 million.  Non-GAAP net revenues and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues exclude the recognition of $4.7 million in deferred license revenue related to SINA's equity investment in CRIC.


Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Comments & Business Outlook

Fourth Quarter Highlights:

  • Non-GAAP net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2010 totaled $105.0 million, compared to $93.5 million for the same period last year.
  • Non-GAAP operating income for the fourth quarter of 2010 was $25.5 million, compared to $18.6 million for the same period last year.
  • Non-GAAP net income attributable to SINA for the fourth quarter of 2010 was $30.6 million, compared to $19.1 million for the same period of last year. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to SINA for the fourth quarter of 2010 was $0.46, compared to $0.31 for the same period last year.
  • SINA estimates that its non-GAAP net revenues for the first quarter of 2011 to be between $93 million and $96 million, with non-GAAP advertising revenues to be between $71 million and $73 million and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues to be between$22 million and $23 million. Non-GAAP net revenues and non-GAAP non-advertising revenues exclude the recognition of $4.7 million in deferred license revenue related the CRIC Transaction.

"2010 has been a year of transformation for SINA. In addition to achieving significant growth in online advertising business and profitability, we have successfully built SINA microblog Weibo into largest and most influential social media platform in Chinawith user base increasing by more than 25 times in 2010. Total registered users for Weibo have now surpassed 100 million, doubling from four months ago," said Charles Chao, CEO of SINA. "As we move into 2011, we plan to leverage Weibo as the centerpiece of SINA's new media growth strategy and make significant investments to further enhance our leadership position in social media space and to best position SINA for an Internet world moving deeper into social networking and mobile Internetthe ."


Acquisition Activity

SHANGHAI, March 2, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Mecox Lane Limited today announced that SINA Corporation and a subsidiary of China Dongxiang (Group) Co., Ltd. ("DongXiang") (HKG 3818) entered into separate agreements to acquire an aggregate of 117,505,755 ordinary shares (equivalent to 16,786,535 ADSs) of Mecox Lane from two major shareholders of Mecox Lane, Maxpro Holdings Limited and Ever Keen Holdings Limited, both wholly owned by Sequoia Capital (collectively "Sequoia"). Each of Mecox Lane's ADSs trading on the Nasdaq Global Market represents seven ordinary shares.

Under the share purchase agreements, SINA will purchase 76,986,529 ordinary shares (equivalent to 10,998,075 ADSs), or approximately 19% of the issued and outstanding shares of Mecox Lane, and DongXiang will purchase 40,519,225 ordinary shares (equivalent to 5,788,460 ADSs), or approximately 10% of the issued and outstanding shares of Mecox Lane (collectively, the "Sale Shares"). The purchase price is US$0.8571 per share, equivalent to US$6.00 per ADS. The selling shareholders also agreed to grant SINA and DongXiang options to purchase 48,254,173 ordinary shares (equivalent to 6,893,453 ADSs) and 18,306,117 ordinary shares (equivalent to 2,615,159 ADSs) of Mecox Lane, respectively.  The options are exercisable during a two-year period starting from the closing date of the above share purchases and the exercise price is US$1.1429 per ordinary share, equivalent to US$8.00 per ADS.


Saturday, June 20, 2009

Share Structure

Sina's outstanding share count is likely to increase due to recent developments:

On December 22, 2008, the Company announced that it entered into a definitive agreement with Focus Media Holding Limited to acquire substantially all of the assets of FMCN's digital out-of-home advertising networks.

 Currently, the transaction is being reviewed by the Department of Commerce of China for anti-trust. If such review is completed and the approval is obtained in the third quarter of 2009, the transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter. Based on the December 22, 2008 announcement, SINA will issue 47 million newly issued ordinary shares to FMCN as consideration for the acquired assets. FMCN will then distribute SINA shares to its shareholders shortly after the closing.

Source:  PR Newswire (June 9, 2009)


Comments & Business Outlook

'The uncertainty in the Chinese economy at the beginning of the year had a severe impact on our online advertising business in the first quarter of 2009. Although market visibility is still relatively low, we have seen improved confidence and sentiment among our advertisers.' said Charles Chao, CEO of SINA. 'While fighting the tough economic cycle, we remain focused on our long-term strategy in building the leading online media platform in China by investing in products, content and brand. We believe our investments in the downturn will make SINA a more competitive company in the long run when the Chinese economy further recovers.'

2nd Quarter Guidance Ending June

  2nd Quarter 2009 Guidance 2nd Quarter 2008 Period Change
GAAP Revenue $85.0 million to $89.0 million $91.3 million -6.9% to -2.5%

Source: See Release


Monday, March 16, 2009

Comments & Business Outlook

Guidance Report:

The foregoing estimates take into account, among other considerations, the recent slow down of the Chinese economy, the current global financial and credit market crisis and its current and anticipated impact on the Chinese economy and the low visibility that the Company currently has on its advertising business.

First Quarter Fiscal 2009 Guidance Ending March

  2009 Guidance 2008 Reported Period Change
GAAP Revenue $73 to $77 million $71 million 2.82% to 8.45%

Source:  PR Newswire (March 16, 2009)