Mobile Revenues Sink While Internet Ads Increase In China For Sina.com

Chinese online media portal and mobile value-added services firm Sina Corporation announced its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, and stated its net revenues grew 15% year-on-year.

For the first quarter of 2010, Sina reported net revenues of USD85.0 million, compared to USD73.8 million in the same period in 2009. Advertising revenues for the first quarter of 2010 were USD54.3 million, compared to USD43.2 million in the same period in 2009.

Non-advertising revenues for the first quarter of 2010 totaled USD30.7 million, compared to USD30.6 million in the same period in 2009. MVAS revenues for the first quarter of 2010 amounted to USD24.6 million, compared to USD29.0 million in the same period in 2009. The decline in MVAS revenues for the first quarter of 2010 was primarily due to China Mobile implementing series of new measures at the end of November 2009 and January 2010, which have reduced the company’s moble short messaging service, multimedia messaging service, interactive voice response system and wireless application protocol revenues. These series of new measures include the suspension of WAP billing, limiting the service offerings and partnerships allowed for each SMS service code, preventing television and radio promotion of certain IVR products and requiring additional notices and customer confirmations in the MVAS ordering process.

Gross margin for the first quarter of 2010 was 57%, up from 52% for the same period last year. Advertising gross margin for the first quarter of 2010 was 56%, up from 50% for the same period last year.

Operating expenses for the first quarter of 2010 totaled USD33.5 million, compared to USD29.9 million from the same period last year. Operating income for the first quarter of 2010 was USD14.6 million, compared to USD8.7 million from the same period last year.

As of March 31, 2010, Sina’s cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled USD828.0 million, compared to USD821.5 million as of December 31, 2009.