SINA Reports First Quarter 2004 Financial Results–The Company Reports Net Revenues of $41.4 Million and U.S. GAAP Net Income of $16.0 Million

　　Shanghai, China-- (PR Newswire)—April 27, 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 first quarter ended March 31, 2004:

　　Net revenues for the quarter grew by 128.5% year-over-year to a record $41.4 million

　　Advertising revenues for the quarter grew by 79.8% year-over-year to $13.1 million and accounted for 31.7% of total revenues

　　Non-advertising revenues for the quarter grew by 161.4% year-over-year and accounted for 68.3% of total revenues

　　US GAAP net income for the quarter was $16.0 million; or $0.28 diluted net income per share, compared to a net income of $3.4 million, or $0.07 diluted net income per share for the same period in 2003.

　　Pro forma net income for the quarter was $16.6 million, or $0.29 diluted net income per share, compared to a pro forma net income of $4.1 million, or $0.08 diluted net income per share for the same period in 2003.

　　Cash flow from operating activities for the quarter was $19.7 million, compared to $3.8 million for the same period in 2003.

　　“In this past quarter, we have again performed above our expectation to achieve new heights in both our revenues and profit,”said Wang Yan, CEO of SINA.“We are off to a good start in 2004. While we are seeing stronger competition in all segments of our market, we continue to see growth in our businesses.”

　　Financial Results

　　For the quarter ended March 31, 2004, SINA reported record net revenues of $41.4 million, an increase of 128.5% from $18.1 million reported in the same period in 2003 and an increase of 8.2% from $38.3 million reported in the previous quarter.

　　Advertising revenues totaled $13.1 million for the quarter, representing a 79.8% increase from $7.3 million reported in the same period in 2003 and a 1.4% increase from $12.9 million reported in the previous quarter.

　　Non-advertising revenues totaled $28.3 million for the quarter, a 161.4% increase from $10.8 million reported in the same period in 2003 and a 11.6% increase from $25.3 million reported in the previous quarter. Non-advertising revenues accounted for 68.3% of the total net revenues for the quarter, compared to 59.7% for the same period in 2003 and 66.2% for the previous quarter. The increase in non-advertising revenues was primarily driven by the growth in mobile value-added service, which grew 180.4% year over year and 12.8% sequentially.

　　The gross margin for the quarter was 69.7%, down from 72.1% reported in the previous quarter and up from 66.3% reported in the same period in 2003.

　　Operating expenses for the first quarter totaled $12.8 million, an increase of 4.6% from $12.2 million reported in the previous quarter and an increase of 46.4% over $8.7 million reported in the same period in 2003.

　　Net income for the first quarter was $16.0 million, representing an increase of 375.2% from a net income of $3.4 million for the same period in 2003 and an increase of 73.1% from a net income of $9.3 million for the previous quarter. Diluted net income per share was $0.28 for the first quarter, compared to a diluted net income per share of $0.07 for the same period of 2003 and a diluted net income per share of $0.16 for the previous quarter.

　　On a pro forma basis, net income for the first quarter totaled $16.6 million, compared to a pro forma net income of $4.1 million for the same period in 2003 and of $15.9 million for the previous quarter. Diluted net income per share, on a pro forma basis, was $0.29 for the quarter, compared to a pro forma diluted net income per share of $0.08 for the same period of 2003 and of $0.28 for the previous quarter. Pro forma net income excludes non-cash charges relating to amortization of intangible assets, stock based compensation and convertible bond issuance cost, and impairment charge on Sun Media Group investment. For the fourth quarter of 2003, the Company took an impairment charge in the amount of $6.1 million for the investment in Sun Media Group.

　　As of March 31, 2004, SINA's cash, cash equivalents and investments in marketable securities totaled $238.1 million, an increase of $11.0 million from three months ago. Cash flow from operating activities for the first quarter was $19.7 million, compared to $19.5 million for the previous quarter and $3.8 million for the same period in 2003. During the first quarter, SINA paid a total of $15.7 million in net cash for acquisitions, deposit for acquisition as well as investment in a joint venture.

　　New Businesses

　　In January 2004, SINA and Yahoo entered into a joint venture for online auction in China. In April, both companies’top executives unveiled the auction site“www.1pai.com.cn”through a charity event. The site is expected to be fully operational by June and become a cornerstone of both companies’e-commerce strategy in China.

　　In February 2004, SINA furthered its investment in online games and online communities products through its strategic licensing agreement with a leading Korean game portal company, NetMarble. This cooperation allowed SINA to acquire capabilities to develop and provide series of casual games, avatars, hompy and animated online chat rooms to our vast user base. SINA is expected to launch its game portal in early second half of 2004.

　　In February 2004, SINA signed an agreement to acquire a leading mobile value-added service provider Crillion Corp. The company, based in Shenzhen, provides mobile community services as well as job information from career centers nationwide via its short message service platform. The acquisition was closed at the end of March. The up-front payment of the acquisition included $9.9 million in cash and 195,593 newly issued SINA ordinary shares. In addition to the up-front payment, SINA will make future contingent payments based on Crillion’s financial performance in 2004 and 2005. The future earn-out payments will be paid out roughly on a 1.5 to 2.0 times 2004 and 2005 earnings basis respectively, provided that Crillion's pretax net income for 2004 and 2005 is over $6.7 million and $13.3 million, respectively. As a result of the acquisition, the Company recorded certain intangible assets in the amount of $4.5 million, which will be amortized over periods ranging from 1.3 to 3.0 years. In addition, the Company recorded goodwill in the amount of $9.9 million for this acquisition. The future earn-out payments for this acquisition, if any, will be recorded as additional goodwill. The goodwill will not be amortized but will be assessed for impairment on an annual basis.

　　“We continue to focus on investment in potential high growth areas such as online gaming and community and e-commerce,”said Hurst Lin, COO of SINA.“Additionally, we are also on the lookout for investment opportunities that will consolidate our leadership position in wireless and online portal.”

　　Business Outlook

　　The Company estimates that its total revenues for Q2 2004 to be between $48.5 million and $49.5 million, with advertising revenues between $14.5 million and $15.0 million and non-advertising revenues between $34.0 million and $34.5 million. Pro forma EPS on a fully diluted basis is expected to be $0.31 to $0.32 for Q2 2004.

　　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 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time today to present an overview of the Company's financial performance and business operations for the first quarter 2004. The dial-in number for the call is 617-801-9713. The pass code is 25444851. A live Webcast of the call will be available from 9:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, April 27th, 2004 (9:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. Beijing Time on April 28th, 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 83860423.

　　About SINA

　　SINA Corporation (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 provides services through five major business lines including SINA.com (online news and content), SINA Mobile (mobile value-added services), SINA Online (community-based services and games), SINA.net (search and enterprise services) and SINA E-Commerce (online shopping and travel). Together these provide an array of services including region-focused online portals, mobile value-added services, search and directory, interest-based and community-building channels, free and premium email, online games, virtual ISP, classified listings, fee-based services, e-commerce 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, 2003 and its recent reports on Form 10-Q as well as in its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.