Bilibili posts 48% revenue growth
Shanghai-headquartered online video streaming and entertainment platform Bilibili reported 48 percent revenue growth in the second quarter and said it remains confident of future anime and other entertainment business.
Total revenue was 1.078 billion yuan (US$157.1 million), but net losses increased to 246.1 million yuan from 14.6 million yuan as higher marketing expenses eroded profit.
Income from mobile games rose to 744 million yuan, up 24 percent as a result of more paying users.
Revenue from live broadcasting and value-added services jumped three times to 169.4 million yuan as a result of the quick pickup of live streaming services amid younger audiences and gamers.
“Our growing library of diverse content continues to attract new members driving growth throughout our business,” commented Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bilibili Chen Rui.
The number of paying users more than tripled in the past year to 3.5 million by the end of September thanks to higher user engagement and wider entertainment content.
The average number of monthly paying users tripled to 3.5 million, and those paying for mobile games added 23 percent.
“We are seeing a more balanced revenue mix with increased revenue contribution from advertising and live broadcasting and value-added services,” added Chief Financial Officer Sam Fan.
Selling and marketing expenses climbed 1.6 times to 196.8 million yuan due to increased channel and marketing expenses associated with Bilibili’s app and brand, including offline events, as well as seasonal promotional expenses.
The company estimate revenue in the fourth quarter will be between 1.04 billion yuan and 1.08 billion yuan.
In October, Bilibili received US$317.6 million investment from Tencent, and also tied up with the Internet giant to collaborate on animation projects as well as to jointly operate more Tencent games.
Tencent currently owns approximately 12 percent of Bilibili’s total issued shares.