Ping An Good Doctor revenue soars in 2018

Ping An Good Doctor posted 79 percent revenue growth year on year in 2018 — its first fiscal year report after its IPO in Hong Kong — thanks to its booming core business and paid user base, the company said on Wednesday.

The company's net loss also narrowed to 912 million yuan from 1 billion yuan a year earlier.

Shanghai-based Good Doctor invested heavily in artificial intelligence and global expansion after the IPO.

Revenue for 2018 was 3.34 billion yuan (US$4.99 billion), up 78.7 percent year on year and beating analysts' forecasts of 2.96 billion yuan.

The growth came from the rapidly growing business of its online “Family Doctor” and the booming number of users.

By  end-2018, the number of monthly paid users was 2.36 million, up 86.2 percent year on year, the company said in a statement.

Ping An Good Doctor shares fell 2.57 percent on Wednesday to HK$37.9 (US$4.90). But the stock has still gained 41 percent so far this year.

In 2019, Good Doctor will further develop cloud and AI technologies, including natural language process, and integrate them into its business.

In August, Good Doctor and Grab announced a US$140 million joint venture to tap the online health care market in Southeast Asia, offering one-stop health care services in 225 cities across eight countries.