Sina sees Q4 revenue boost from surge in Weibo profit

Revenue at mainland Internet firm Sina rose 21% to US$256.2 million in the fourth quarter driven by a 42% increase from the company’s New York-listed Weibo microblogging platform, The Wall Street Journal reported. Advertising revenue rose 23% to US$223.2 million, with flat portal advertising income offset by ad revenue growth from Weibo. However, the company’s projected adjusted revenue of US$850-950 million for 2016 fell short of analyst expectations of close to US$1 billion, and shares in Sina subsequently dropped 4% in after-hours trading, though Weibo’s stock rose 1.4%. Monthly active users of the microblog platform totaled 236 million in December, up 34% from a year earlier.