(Yicai Global) Nov. 12 -- Shares in Weibo surged as much as 11.8 percent yesterday after China’s most popular micro-blogging platform reported a more than five-fold increase in third-quarter profit from the same period last year and a significant jump in its user base.

Weibo’s share price [NASDAQ:WB] closed up 4.61 percent at USD46.11.

Weibo raked in USD181.7 million in profit during the three months ended Sept. 30, the Beijing-based company said in its unaudited financial results released yesterday. Revenue was up 30 percent to USD607.4 million.

The number of monthly active users increased 12 percent year on year to 573 million in September, largely thanks to the firm’s “core positioning in social media, strong execution ability, effective channel investment strategies and the Olympic Game effect,” Chief Executive Officer Wang Gaofei said.

The internet-based giant, dubbed the 'Chinese Twitter,' remains confident about the fourth quarter, projecting revenue growth of as much as 20 percent, despite regulators recently bringing in stricter rules on cybersecurity, personal data use and anti-trust compliance.

“I am confident that the new regulatory environment will benefit the internet sector and empower Weibo's user growth and monetization in the long run,” Wang said.

Editor: Kim Taylor