Sina 1st-quarter profit rises over 86 percent

Sina shares rose $4.53, or 8.5 percent, to $57.68 in after-hours trading, after finishing regular trading up $1.27 at $53.15.

For the quarter ended March 31, Sina earned $16.1 million, or 27 cents per share, compared with $8.6 million, or 15 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

On an adjusted basis, Sina earned 33 cents per share.

Sina's revenue rose to $71.3 million from $51.3 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a profit of 27 cents per share on $67.4 million in revenue. Analyst estimates generally exclude special items.

Sina said its advertising revenue rose 50.6 percent to $47.8 million, while mobile-related revenue rose 18.9 percent to $21.7 million.

The company also benefited from increased interest and other income, which rose to $6.2 million from $2.7 million.

The company also reported its operating expenses rose to $28.7 million from $22.9 million, mainly due to increased marketing spending, higher engineering-related payroll and personnel costs.

For the second quarter, Sina expects revenue of $88 million to $90 million, ahead of analysts' estimates for revenue of $81.6 million.