Tom Online shows loss

Chinese mobile content behemoth Tom Online blamed policy changes by China Mobile as it posted a fourth-quarter loss of a half million dollars.
The Nasdaq-listed firm reported a net loss of $510,000 during the final three months of 2006, down drastically from a $12.7 million profit during the same period a year earlier. Its net profit for 2006 was $28.7 million, down from $45 million in 2005.
Tom Online hawks horoscopes, ringtones, games and other content from a Web portal. Like other players in the market, the company suffered a major blow when China Mobile last year overhauled its policies for third-party content subscriptions in response to backlash against firms such as Jamba and Buongiorno.
“The changes, which have been implemented under the policy directives of China’s Ministry of Information Industry, aim to address a number of issues, including reducing customer complaints,” the company said in a prepared statement. “These policies had a significant negative impact to our wireless Internet business in the second half of 2006.”
Shares of Tom Online fell 14 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $14.52 following the news.