Bilibili revenue up 74 percent in third quarter
Shanghai-headquartered Bilibili saw third-quarter revenue rise 74 percent to 3.23 billion yuan (US$475.1 million) thanks to strong advertising income and a growing paying user base.
"Our effective user growth strategy and expanding content library helped us to reach an even broader audience," said Chairman and CEO Chen Rui.
China has more than 940 million Internet users as of June this year and people spend the most time on instant messaging and online video apps, according to the state-backed China Internet Network Information Center.
Online video and short-format video viewers reached 888 million and livestreaming users totaled 562 million.
Meanwhile, net loss more than doubled to 1.1 billion yuan, from 405.7 million yuan, after increased headcount in research and development personnel and marketing expenses, Bilibili said.
The video sharing platform has expanded to cover gaming, livestreaming, e-sports and other entertainment formats.
Advertising revenue more than doubled to 557.5 million yuan and revenue from mobile games, standing at 1.28 billion yuan, is still the largest contributor, followed by income from live broadcasting and other value-added service.
"We expect the inevitable trend of video production and distribution to provide great opportunities for Bilibili to grow and expand as the go-to platform for online content," commented Chen.
Average monthly paying users reached 15 million, an 89 percent increase from a year earlier.
As the site rolled out more premium content and services, more traffic was converted to paying users and overall paying ratio improved, according to Chief Financial Officer Sam Fan.
In August, it purchased a 9.9 percent stake in Huanxi Media Group for about US$66.2 million and the two parties intend to pursue collaboration opportunities in online entertainment for the Chinese market.
