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SINA Reports Its First Quarter Fiscal Year 2002 Financial Results
Quarterly Revenue Increased 4.9 % And Net Loss Narrowed By 35.6% Sequentially
Financial Highlights
Revenues from e-commerce and fee-based services increased by 96.1% quarter over quarter Quarterly net loss narrowed by 35.6% sequentially and 48.3% year over year Quarterly net loss per share decreased to $0.13 from $0.20 for the previous quarter and $0.26 for the same period of fiscal year 2001 Quarterly pro forma net loss seen a 29.8% decrease sequentially, and down 51.6% year over year Quarterly pro-forma loss per share decreased to $0.07 from $0.10 for the previous quarter and $0.15 for the same period of fiscal year 2001 Pro forma gross margin improved 3.6% to 48.8% sequentially BEIJING/SUNNYVALE, Calif., October 30, 2001 - SINA (Nasdaq: SINA), a leading Chinese media and Internet services company today announced its financial results for the 1st quarter of fiscal year 2002 ended September 30, 2001.
For the quarter ended September 30, 2001, net revenues were $6.1 million, up 4.9% from the previous quarter. Net loss narrowed to $5.3 million, a decline of 35.6% from $8.2 million in the previous quarter and a decline of 48.3% from $10.2 million in the same period of fiscal year 2001. Net loss per share was $0.13, down from $0.20 in the previous quarter and $0.26 in the same period of fiscal year 2001. Pro forma net loss for the quarter was $2.9 million or $0.07 loss per share, compared to pro forma net loss of $4.1 million or $0.10 loss per share for the previous quarter and $6.0 million or $0.15 loss per share for the same period of fiscal year 2001. Pro forma net loss excludes non-cash charges for amortization of intangibles and stock-based compensation and one-time restructuring charges related to the severance payments.
As of September 30, 2001, SINA's cash, cash equivalent and short-term investment balance was $97.1 million, representing a decrease of $12.7 million from the previous quarter including $8.0 million of cash investment in Sun Television Cybernetworks Holdings Limited (Sun TV: HKSE: 0307).
According to the audited results by ABC Interactive, an international firm specializing in online traffic audit and whose client base includes many global leading Internet companies, SINA's page views totaled 3.0 billion for the month of September 2001. Furthermore, during the quarter, SINA's Hong Kong web site was ranked number one among Chinese online destinations in terms of page views for the month of August by Nielsen/Netratings, while both IamAsia and Netvalue again confirmed SINA's top position in Mainland China.
"I am very proud that our team has continued to make great progress on all of our key business metrics in a challenging economic environment," said Daniel Mao, Chief Executive Officer of SINA. "We have significantly improved our bottom line through our relentless focus on operating efficiency while increasing revenue and viewership as well as our market leadership in Greater China."
In September 2001, SINA announced the completion of its acquisition of 29% equity interest in Sun TV, a leading Greater China-wide Satellite TV broadcaster and a Cable TV program syndicator. The two companies have begun to work on cross selling, cross-promotion and development and syndication of programs for broadband and cross-media.
Over the quarter, SINA enjoyed healthy returns on its fee-based services including paid e-mail, wireless short messaging services, classified ads and enterprise technology services. Revenues from e-commerce and fee-based services have increased by 96.1% quarter over quarter.
"Combining with Sun TV, SINA brand is leading more and more mass consumers on to the internet lifestyle. Building on the momentum started last quarter, our wireless and e-commerce revenues have shown marked increase this quarter and we expect this to be the fastest growing portion of our business in the coming quarters," said Mao. "With Internet technologies and media as our core business, we have positioned our company to grow via multiple revenue streams including telecommunication, cross-media, and technology services."
First quarter of fiscal year 2002 conference call live webcast is scheduled for October 31, 2001 at 9:00 a.m. Hong Kong time (or 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on October 30, 2001) and will be broadcast at http://www.sina.com/corp/invest
About SINA.com
SINA.com is a leading Chinese media and Internet services company for Chinese communities worldwide, offering on-line news, entertainment, community and e-commerce. A popular destination site for the world's largest population group, SINA.com offers a Chinese-language network of four localized Web sites that are produced and updated daily by local teams in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and North America. As of September 2001, SINA.com enjoyed 3.0 billion page views and 35 million registered users.
To learn more about SINA.com, visit the company's corporate site at http://www.sina.com/corp/, or regional sites at http://www.sina.com, http://www.sina.com.cn, http://www.sina.com.hk and http://www.sina.com.tw.
Safe Harbor Statement
This company's announcement contains forward-looking statements. We may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in our periodic reports to the Securities and Exchange commission on forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, etc., in our annual report to shareholders, in our proxy statements, in our offering circulars and prospectuses, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by our officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current plans, estimates and projections, and therefore you should not place undue reliance on them.
Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. We caution you that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, SINA historical and future losses, limited operating history, uncertain regulatory landscape in the People's Republic of China, fluctuations in quarterly operating results, the company's reliance on online advertising sales for a significant portion of its revenues. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in SINA's prospectus, 10K, 10Q and in its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Investor Contact:
Grace Lee, Investor Relations Manager
SINA.com
(408) 548-0000
investor-relations@staff.sina.comMedia Contact:
Denise Chen, Marketing Manager
SINA.com
(408) 548-0000
denise@staff.sina.com