Sohu.com shrugs off rumours
( 2002-04-24 10:41 ) (1 )

Chinese portal Sohu.com said on Tuesday its first-quarter net loss narrowed by 47 per cent year-on-year. It also denied reports that its website for the 2002 World Cup has been forced to shut down due to a dispute with its arch-rival Sina.com.

The Nasdaq-listed company said its sales rose 85 per cent to US$4.5 million and that losses fell 47 per cent to US$2.2 million during the period.

It reaffirmed that it could break even by the year end since it has kept a double-digit revenue increase for the past seven quarters.

Charles Zhang, Sohu's chief executive officer also denied claims by Sina.com that the China Football Association (CFA) has cancelled Sohu as the officially designated website for the World Cup.

"Sohu is still the CFA-authorized website for the World Cup." Zhang said. "The reports are only rumours."

Sina, Sohu's face-to-face competing Internet portal and the only official online partner with CFA for the promotion of Team China, was accused of telling major local newspapers that the football association has confirmed Sina as the sole authorized sponsor for reporting China's matches in the World Cup this summer. Sina said the association has forced Sohu to stop using the logo of the association on its World Cup website.

Zhang said the website, which could not be logged onto over the weekend, has reopened after the company solved technical problems.

He added that the company has signed legal contracts with the football association, and is talking with companies about advertising on its World Cup website, including the home appliance maker TCL.

Betting on more advertisements for the cup, Zhang said its sales could rise by 13 per cent to US$5.1 million in the second quarter.

In the first quarter, advertising income accounted for 55 per cent of total revenues, with the rest coming from value-added business such as SMS (short massaging service) and online trading.