Shanghai, China-- (PR Newswire)—February 3, 2004—SINA Corporation (Nasdaq:SINA), a leading online media company and value-added information service provider for China and for global Chinese communities, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and for the full year ended December 31, 2003:

　　Net revenues for the quarter grew by 197% year-over-year and by 20% quarter-over-quarter to a record $38.3 million

　　Advertising revenues for the quarter grew by 75% year-over-year and by 13% quarter-over-quarter to $12.9 million

　　Non-advertising revenues for the quarter grew by 361% year-over-year and by 24% quarter-over-quarter to $25.3 million

　　US GAAP net income for the quarter was $9.3 million or $0.16 diluted net income per share, compared to a net income of $1.5 million, or $0.03 diluted net income per share for the same period in 2002. US GAAP net income for the quarter included an impairment loss on Sun Media investment in the amount of $6.1 million.

　　Pro forma net income for the quarter was $15.9 million, or $0.28 diluted net income per share, compared to a pro forma net income of $1.8 million, or $0.04 diluted net income per share for the same period in 2002.

　　Cash flow from operating activities for the quarter was $19.5 million, compared to $3.2 million for the same period in 2002.

　　“Our outstanding performance in the fourth quarter sets another new record in the company’s history and completes a year of extraordinary growth for SINA,”said Yan Wang, CEO of SINA.“We believe SINA continues to break away from its competitors and further solidify its leadership position in the China Internet space.”

　　Net revenues for the year grew by 194% from the same period in 2002 to a record $114.3 million

　　Advertising revenues for the year grew by 67% from the same period in 2002

　　Non-advertising revenues for the year grew by 415% from the same period in 2002

　　US GAAP net income for the year was $31.4 million; or $0.58 diluted net income per share, compared to a net loss of $4.9 million, or $0.11 diluted net loss per share for the same period in 2002. US GAAP net income for the year included an impairment loss on Sun Media investment in the amount of $6.1 million

　　Pro forma net income for the year was $41.6 million, or $0.76 diluted net income per share, compared to a pro forma net loss of $1.4 million, or $0.03 diluted net loss per share for the same period in 2002

　　Cash flow from operating activities for the year was $45.9 million, compared to $4.6 million for the same period in 2002

　　“2003 has been a year of historic performance for SINA. For the year, we have easily passed the $100 million milestone to reach $114.3 million in net revenues. Compared with where we stood relative to our competitors at the end of 2002, this is the year SINA pulled away from the pack,”said, Hurst Lin, COO of SINA.“Looking into 2004, not only will we continue to focus on our two core businesses of online advertising and mobile value-added services, we will be stepping up our efforts in e-commerce as is evidenced by our entry into online travel and auction through the acquisition of Fortune Trip and joint venture with Yahoo respectively.”

　　Financial Results

　　For the fourth quarter of 2003, SINA reported record net revenues of $38.3 million, an increase of 20% from the previous quarter and an increase of 197% from the same period in 2002. For the year ended December 31, 2003, net revenues were $114.3 million, an increase of 194% from the same period in 2002.

　　Advertising revenues totaled $12.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2003, representing a 13% increase over $11.4 million reported in the previous quarter and a 75% increase over $7.4 million reported in the same period in 2002. For the year ended December 31, 2003, advertising revenues were $41.2 million, an increase of 67% from the same period in 2002.

　　Non-advertising revenues totaled $25.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2003, a 24% increase over $20.5 million reported in the previous quarter and a 361% increase over $5.5 million reported in the same period in 2002. Non-advertising revenues accounted for 66% of the total net revenues for the quarter, compared to 64% for the previous quarter and 43% for the same period in 2002. For the year ended December 31, 2003, non-advertising revenues were $73.1 million, a 415% increase over the same period in 2002. The increase in non-advertising revenues for the quarter and for the year was primarily driven by the growth in mobile value added services.

　　The gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2003 was a record high of 72%, up from 70% reported in the previous quarter and 65% reported in the same period in 2002. For the year ended December 31, 2003, the gross margin was 70%, up from 60% for the same period in 2002.

　　Operating expenses for the fourth quarter of 2003 totaled $12.2 million, an increase of 13% from $10.8 million reported in the previous quarter and an increase of 65% over $7.4 million reported in the same period in 2002. The operating expenses for the fourth quarter of 2003 included $0.6 million charge for professional fees relating to certain acquisition transactions that did not materialize. For the year ended December 31, 2003, the operating expenses were $42.8 million, compared to $30.7 million for the same period in 2002.

　　Net income for the fourth quarter of 2003 was $9.3 million, representing an improvement of 528% from a net income of $1.5 million for the same period in 2002. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2003 included an impairment charge in the amount of $6.1 million for the investment in Sun Media Group, a Hong Kong listed company. The amount reflected the difference between the market value of the investment and the Company’s carrying amount as of December 31, 2003 as the management has concluded that the decline in value of the Sun Media investment is other than temporary. Diluted net income per share was $0.16 for the fourth quarter of 2003. Excluding the effect of the impairment charge on Sun Media investment, diluted net income per share was $0.27, beating the Company’s guidance of $0.24 to $0.25 per share. For the year ended December 31, 2003, diluted net income per share was $0.58, compared to a diluted net loss per share of $0.11 for the same period in 2002.

　　On a pro forma basis, net income for the fourth quarter of 2003 totaled $15.9 million, compared to a pro forma net income of $12.3 million for the previous quarter and of $1.8 million for the same period in 2002. Diluted net income per share, on a pro forma basis, was $0.28 for the quarter, compared to a pro forma diluted net income per share of $0.21 for the previous quarter and of $0.04 for the same period in 2002. For the year ended December 31, 2003, pro forma net income was $41.6 million, compared to a pro forma net loss of $1.4 million for the same period in 2002. Pro forma net income or loss excludes non cash charges relating to amortization of intangible assets, stock based compensation and convertible bond issuance cost; write-off of intangible assets and impairment charge on Sun Media investment; as well as certain severance payments.

　　As of December 31, 2003, SINA's cash, cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities totaled $227.2 million, an increase of $18.9 million from three months ago. Cash flow from operating activities for the fourth quarter was $19.5 million, compared to $13.7 million for the previous quarter and $3.2 million for the same period in 2002. For the year ended December 31, 2003, cash flow from operating activities was $45.9 million, compared to $4.6 million for the same period in 2002.

　　Business Outlook

　　The Company estimates that its total revenues for Q1 2004 to be between $39.5 million and $40.5 million, with advertising revenues between $12.7 million and $13.2 million and non-advertising revenues between $26.8 million and $27.3 million. US GAAP EPS on a fully diluted basis is expected to be $0.27 to $0.29 for Q1 2004. For the full year 2004, the Company projects its effective income tax rate to be 5%.

　　NON-GAAP Measures

　　To supplement the consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with GAAP, SINA uses non-GAAP measures of gross profit, operating income, net income and earnings per share, which are adjusted from results based on GAAP to exclude certain expenses, gains and losses. These non-GAAP measures are provided to enhance the user's overall understanding of our current financial performance and our prospects for the future. Specifically, the Company believes the non-GAAP results provide useful information to both management and investors by excluding certain expenses that are not expected to result in future cash payments, gains and losses that are non-recurring in nature or may not be indicative of our core operating results. In addition, because the Company has historically reported certain non-GAAP results to investors, the Company believes the inclusion of non-GAAP measures provides consistency in our financial reporting. These measures should be considered in addition to results prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, but should not be considered a substitute for or superior to GAAP results. Consistent with the Company’s historical practice, the non-GAAP measures included in this press release have been reconciled to the nearest GAAP measure.

　　Conference Call

　　SINA will host a conference call at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time today to present an overview of the Company's financial performance and business operations for the quarter ended December 31, 2003 and the full year 2003. The dial-in number for the call is 617-786-2960. The pass code is 25444851. A live Webcast of the call will be available from 8:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 3rd, 2004 (9:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m. Beijing Time on February 4th, 2004). The call can be accessed through the Company's corporate web site at corp.sina.com. The call will be archived for 12 months on SINA’s corporate website at corp.sina.com. A replay of the conference call will be available for forty-eight hours after the conclusion of the conference call. The dial-in number is 617-801-6888. The pass code for the replay is 59788275.

　　About SINA

　　SINA Corporation (FKA: SINA.com) (Nasdaq:SINA) is a leading online media company and value-added information service ("VAS") provider for China and for global Chinese communities. With a branded network of localized web sites targeting Greater China and overseas Chinese, SINA operates three major business lines including SINA.com (online media and entertainment service), SINA Online (consumer fee-based online and wireless VAS) and SINA.net (small and medium-sized enterprises VAS), providing an array of services including online portals, premium email, wireless short messaging, virtual ISP, search, classified information, online games, e-commerce, e-learning and enterprise e-solutions.

　　Safe Harbor Statement

　　This announcement contains forward-looking statements concerning SINA’s expected financial performance (as described without limitation in the Business Outlook section and quotations from management in this press release), as well as SINA’s strategic and operational plans. SINA 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 its annual report to shareholders, in its proxy statements, in its offering circulars and prospectuses, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. 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’s historical losses, its limited operating history, the uncertain regulatory landscape in the People's Republic of China, fluctuations in quarterly operating results, the Company's reliance on wireless short messaging service and online advertising sales for a majority of its revenues, the Company’s reliance on mobile operators in China to provide wireless short messaging service, any failure to successfully develop and introduce new products and any failure to successfully integrate acquired businesses. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in SINA's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2002 and its recent reports on Form 10-Q as well as in its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.