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0807

SINA Achieves Record Revenue of $8.6 Million and Record Gross Margin of 59% for the Fourth Quarter of Fiscal Year 2002
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Net revenue increased 48% as compared to same period last year, achieved positive cash flow from operations during fourth quarter

BEIJING and San Mateo, Calif., August 7, 2002 -- SINA (Nasdaq: SINA), a leading Chinese media and Internet services company today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended June 30, 2002.

Financial Highlights:

·Quarterly net revenues grew 20% sequentially to a record high of $8.6 million, and an increase of 48% from the same period of the prior year

·Gross profit margin for the quarter improved to 59% from 52% for the prior quarter

·Positive cash flow from operations of $0.4 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2002

·Quarterly pro forma net loss declined 46% sequentially to $0.95 million, and an improvement of 77% as compared to the same period of the prior year

·Total balance of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investment of $93.2 million

“In this past fiscal year, we have focused intensely on achieving our strategic goals and executing on our operating plan. We’re very pleased to see the fourth consecutive quarter of terrific financial results,” said Daniel Mao, Chief Executive Officer of SINA. “Relative to our peers, SINA continues to lead the pack in revenues, gross margin, market coverage and balance sheet strength.”

Business Results

For the quarter ended June 30, 2002, SINA reported record net revenues of $8.6 million, an increase of 20% from previous quarter and of 48% from the same period of the previous year. Gross margins improved to an all-time high of 59%, up from 52% for the previous quarter.

On a GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) basis, net loss for the quarter was $1.9 million, an improvement of 52% from $4.0 million for the previous quarter and of 77% from $8.2 million for the same period of the previous year. Net loss per share for the quarter was $0.04, as compared to $0.09 for the previous quarter and $0.20 for the same period of the previous year.

Pro forma net loss for the quarter ended June 30, 2002 further narrowed to $0.95 million, representing a 46% improvement from $1.8 million for the previous quarter and a 77% improvement from $4.1 million for the same period of the previous year. Pro forma net loss per share for the quarter was $0.02, compared to $0.04 for the previous quarter and $0.10 for the same period of the previous year. Pro forma net loss excludes non-cash charges for amortization of intangibles, stock-based compensation and gains or losses from equity investments and one-time charges relating to severance payment.

For the fiscal year 2002 ended June 30, 2002, net revenues were $28.5 million, compared to $26.7 million for the same period of the previous year. On a GAAP basis, net loss was $16.1 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2002, an improvement of 56% from a net loss of $36.4 million for the same period of the previous year.

Pro forma net loss for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2002 was $7.9 million, an improvement of 61% from a pro forma net loss of $20.0 million for the same period of the previous year. Pro forma net loss excludes non-cash charges for amortization of intangibles, stock-based compensation and gains or losses from equity investments and one-time charges relating to severance payment and office moving.

As of June 30, 2002, the total balance of SINA's cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments was $93.2 million, representing a decrease of $0.4 million from the previous quarter. With strong revenue growth and improved gross margin, SINA achieved positive operating cash flow for the first time with cash flow from operations amounting to $0.4 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2002.

Key Milestones Achieved in Fourth Quarter

Among its peers, SINA continues to be the one chosen by both industry and government as their preferred partners. First, as the official partner for China National Soccer Team for the World Cup in Korea and Japan. SINA’s World Cup Site recorded over 1.2 billion page views with over 51% of total online audience in China accessing the official site. Second, SINA was chosen by the world leading cosmetics company L’Oreal and the China Women Association to be their official Internet Partner. Lastly, SINA completed a string of strategic alliances with leaders in various industries such as China Mobile, China Unicom, Chongqing Mobile, 263.Net, Viafriend, an affiliate of SK Telecom, and so on.

Furthermore, during the quarter, SINA continued to transform its business into three distinct yet inter-dependent business lines - SINA.com, SINA.net and SINA Online (SOL). While SINA.com continued to dominate the online portal space in advertising market share, both SINA.net and SOL have accelerated their growth significantly to become leading competitors in their respective fields. Today, SINA.net and SOL together contribute over 30% of total SINA revenues.

In addition to the three distinct business lines, to better service its customers and business partners as well as to achieve greater efficiency, SINA has reorganized itself into four business operations centers- North China, East China (inclusive of Taiwan), South China (inclusive of Hong Kong) and SINA International, all served by a centralized R&D, content management, brand and marketing management as well business and corporate development.

"With this 3 by 4 structure- three business lines and four operations centers, we’re positioning SINA to leverage our core competence in brand, technology and content into high growth areas as well as making SINA more responsive to regional needs and differences," said Daniel Mao, Chief Executive Officer of SINA. "Particularly, by incorporating Taiwan into our East China operations center and Hong Kong into our South China operations center, we will better serve many of our key clients and partners in Taiwan and Hong Kong who themselves have become cross-regional enterprises."

Joint Venture Announcement

SINA announced that it has formed a strategic partnership with HC International, Inc., a leading business information service provider in China. The partnership will initially focus on online-offline classified information service in China with the formation of a joint venture equally owned by the two companies. With more than 20 offices located in major cities and a sales force of 2,000 people, HC International is the pioneer of classified information service in China serving a client base of more than 300,000 companies. The joint venture is expected to create an immediate impact on China’s fast growing classified information market with SINA’s brand and online traffic and HC International’s comprehensive business information database and nationwide sales force. The two companies will also develop further cooperation in the areas of search engine and industry specific channels with a goal of creating a dominant business information service provider in China with online-offline collaborations.

“With our strong cash position and our main businesses becoming self-sustaining, we’re ready to pounce on new opportunities in high growth areas,” said Daniel Mao, Chief Executive Officer of SINA. “Our joint venture with HC International is but only the first initiative where we leverage our strong technical, marketing and financial resources to seize a growth opportunity for SINA.”

Conference Call

SINA management will host a conference call for the fourth quarter and year-end financial results of fiscal year 2002 on August 8, 2002 at 9:00 AM Hong Kong time (or 9:00 PM EST on August 7, 2002 in the United States). The conference call will be broadcast at http://www.sina.com/corp/invest/ Conference call dial-in details: US Toll-free: 888-482-0024; Hong Kong Toll-free: 800-963-844; US Toll: 617-801-9702; Passcode: 883874.

About SINA

SINA, a leading Chinese media and Internet services company, offers Internet media and entertainment services, entrepreneurial technology services, and telecom access and subscription services through its three major business lines -- SINA.com, SINA.net, and SINA Online. On the basis of the TMT strategy, a combination of Technology, Media, and Telecom, SINA is exploring business vertical potentials in areas of finance, sports, education and entertainment.

SINA global network delivers Chinese-related information inclusive of finance, sports, entertainment, technology, as well as Chinese success stories and Chinese dreams via multiple devices and SINA English Channel to the world's largest population group. The network of four localized Web sites is produced and updated daily by local teams in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and North America.

To learn more about SINA, 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://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.

Contact Information: Grace Lee / SINA, 650-638-9228 or gracelee@staff.sina.com