Sina.com 1Q Profit Falls 31 Percent On Ad Slowdown

SHANGHAI (AP) — Sina Corp., operator of a leading Chinese Internet portal, said Wednesday its first-quarter profit fell 31 percent as advertising revenue declined due to a soft economy.

The Shanghai-based company said it earned $9.75 million, or 17 cents per share, compared with $14.1 million, or 23 cents a share, in the same quarter a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company said it earned 23 cents per share in the latest quarter.

Revenue was up 3.4 percent to $73.8 million from $71.3 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting, on average, a profit of 22 cents per share on revenue of $75.4 million.

In the quarter, advertising revenue fell 10 percent to $43.2 million from last year. Nearly all of its ad revenue is from China.

"The uncertainty in the Chinese economy at the beginning of the year had a severe impact on our online advertising business," CEO Charles Chao said in a statement. "Although market visibility is still relatively low, we have seen improved confidence and sentiment among our advertisers."