Sina quarterly profits rise thanks to one-off gain

Sina Corporation (SINA.NASDAQ) reported that second-quarter profits more than tripled year-on-year, largely due to a one-off asset sale, The Wall Street Journal reported. The firm reported US$33.2 million in profit for the financial quarter, up from US$10 million from the same period in 2011. At least some of the surge can be traced to a US$32.8 million gain after E-House Holdings (EJ.NYSE) purchased Sina’s 34% stake in China Real Estate Information (CRIC.NASDAQ). However, Sina cautioned that operating profits will be low for the rest of the year. “It will be another year of investment for Sina,” said the company’s CEO Charles Chao. He added that the firm is “building the infrastructure and systems for monetization to take off next year.” Registered users on the Sina Weibo micro-blog service increased 13.6% during the quarter to 368 million, despite mounting government censorship of the site.