Sina Weibo Started Making Profits In Late 2013

Sina's financial report for the fourth quarter and the entire year of 2013 stated that its Weibo microblogging service realized a first-time operating profit of USD3 million in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Sina Weibo also reportedly plans to launch IPO at the New York Stock Exchange in the second quarter of 2014.

According to the financial statistics of Sina, during the fourth quarter of 2013, Sina Weibo achieved operating revenue of USD71.4 million. Of the total, USD56 million was from advertising, marking a year-on-year increase of 163%; and USD15.4 million was from non-advertising businesses, a year-on-year increase of 114%.

Contributed by the growth of Weibo business, Sina realized operating revenue of USD197 million in the fourth quarter of 2013, a year-on-year increase of 42%. Meanwhile, for the entire year of 2013, Sina's net operating revenue reached USD665.1 million, a year-on-year increase of 26%; and its net profit was USD45.1 million.

A Sina executive previously revealed that making profit is a precondition for Weibo to launch an IPO and it has now been achieved.

According to reports in foreign media, Sina has hired Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse to help prepare the IPO for Weibo, which plans to raise about USD500 million.