Kuaishou Technology Announces Third Quarter 2024 Unaudited Financial Results
PR Newswire
HONG KONG, Nov. 20, 2024
HONG KONG, Nov. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Kuaishou Technology ("Kuaishou" or the "Company"; HKD Counter Stock Code: 01024 / RMB Counter Stock Code: 81024), a leading content community and social platform, today announced its unaudited consolidated results for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2024.
Third Quarter 2024 Key Highlights
-- Average DAUs on Kuaishou APP were 407.5 million, representing an increase
of 5.4% from 386.6 million for the same period of 2023.
-- Average MAUs on Kuaishou APP were 714.1 million, representing an increase
of 4.3% from 684.7 million for the same period of 2023.
-- Total e-commerce GMV(1) was RMB334.2 billion, representing an increase of
15.1% from RMB290.2 billion for the same period of 2023.
-- Total revenue increased by 11.4% to RMB31.1 billion from RMB27.9 billion
for the same period of 2023. Online marketing services and live streaming
contributed 56.6% and 30.0%, respectively, to the total revenue. The
other 13.4% came from other services.
-- Gross profit increased by 17.0% to RMB16.9 billion from RMB14.5 billion
for the same period of 2023. Gross profit margin in the third quarter of
2024 was 54.3%, improving from 51.7% for the same period of 2023.
-- Profit for the period was RMB3.3 billion, compared to RMB2.2 billion for
the same period of 2023. Adjusted net profit(2) increased to RMB3.9
billion from RMB3.2 billion for the same period of 2023.
-- Operating profit from the domestic segment(3) increased to RMB3.5 billion
from RMB3.2 billion for the same period of 2023. Operating loss from the
overseas segment(3) decreased to RMB153 million by 75.9% year-over-year.
Mr. Cheng Yixiao, Co-founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Kuaishou, said, "In the third quarter of 2024, our commitment to developing breakthrough technology that creates more value for our users propelled our user base to record-breaking heights. The Kuaishou App achieved average DAUs of 407.5 million and MAUs of 714.1 million. Our globally leading large video generation model, Kling AI, is setting new industry standards, redefining how content is created, personalized and experienced. Increased engagement across our ecosystem has fueled steady commercial growth, with total revenue rising 11.4% year-over-year in the third quarter to RMB31.1 billion. Notably, revenue from our core businesses, including online marketing services and e-commerce, grew nearly 20.0% year-over-year. Our adjusted net profit rose 24.4% year-over-year to RMB3.9 billion, showing our ability to increase profitability. Looking ahead, our AI strategy aims to strengthen our current business lines and lay the foundation for sustainable growth across our dynamic user, content and commercial ecosystems."
Third Quarter 2024 Financial Review
Revenue from our online marketing services increased by 20.0% to RMB17.6 billion for the third quarter of 2024, from RMB14.7 billion for the same period of 2023, primarily attributable to the increased consumption from marketing clients driven by continuous optimization of smart placement capabilities and algorithms.
Revenue from our live streaming business decreased by 3.9% to RMB9.3 billion for the third quarter of 2024 from RMB9.7 billion for the same period of 2023, as a result of our continuous efforts in building a healthy and sustainable live streaming ecosystem.
Revenue from our other services increased by 17.5% to RMB4.2 billion for the third quarter of 2024, from RMB3.5 billion for the same period of 2023, primarily due to the growth of our e-commerce business, represented by the growth in our e-commerce GMV. The growth in e-commerce GMV was driven by increases in the number of e-commerce monthly active paying users and monthly active merchants as a result of our continuous refined omni-domain operations.
Other Key Financial Information for the Third Quarter of 2024
Operating profit was RMB3.1 billion, increasing from RMB2.2 billion for the same period of 2023.
Adjusted EBITDA(4) was RMB5.6 billion, increasing from RMB5.0 billion for the same period of 2023.
Total available funds(5) reached RMB86.7 billion as of September 30, 2024.
Notes:
(1) Placed on or directed to our partners through our platform.
(2) We define "adjusted net profit" as profit for the period adjusted by share-based compensation expenses and net fair value changes on investments.
(3) Unallocated items, which consist of share-based compensation expenses, other income, and other gains, net, are not included.
(4) We define "adjusted EBITDA" as adjusted net profit for the period adjusted by income tax (benefits)/expenses, depreciation of property and equipment, depreciation of right-of-use assets, amortization of intangible assets, and finance income, net.
(5) Total available funds which we considered in cash management included but not limited to cash and cash equivalents, time deposits, financial assets and restricted cash. Financial assets mainly included wealth management products and others.
Business Review
We grew our user base and increased our revenues and profits in the third quarter of 2024 despite a challenging macro environment. We achieved a new milestone of over 400 million quarterly average DAUs and recorded strong financial performance, driven by our unwavering dedication to our technology-driven, user-centric business philosophy. Our total revenue grew by 11.4% year-over-year to RMB31.1 billion, and revenue from our core commercial business, including online marketing services and other services, primarily e-commerce, increased by nearly 20.0% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2024. Our adjusted net profit rose by 24.4% year-over-year to RMB3.9 billion, evidencing our sustained profitability improvements.
We continued to advance the integration and application of large models for content creation, understanding and recommendation, empowering our content and commercial ecosystem. In the third quarter of 2024, average daily spending with AIGC marketing materials from marketing clients surpassed RMB20 million. In September 2024, we unveiled the latest version of our video generation model, Kling AI ( AI) 1.5, which sets new industry benchmarks for video quality with higher-quality resolution of 1080p, dynamic performance, semantic responsiveness and feature enhancements such as motion brush.
User and content ecosystem
In the third quarter of 2024, the average DAUs and MAUs on the Kuaishou App reached 408 million and 714 million, respectively, representing year-over-year increases of 5.4% and 4.3%, respectively, which further solidified our leading position as the third largest app in China in terms of quarterly average DAU. The average daily time spent per DAU on the Kuaishou App was 132.2 minutes. Total user time spent on the Kuaishou App increased by 7.3% year-over-year, with average daily live streaming and short video views reaching nearly 110 billion.
In line with our strategy to promote high-quality user growth, we enhanced our capabilities in leveraging marketing channels for user acquisition and optimized product features, while integrating user acquisition initiatives with commercial scenarios such as e-commerce. These efforts enabled us to expand our user base and enabled more users to access our products more frequently. We also progressed our user retention initiatives by enriching the interactive community experience. For example, to drive user engagement and increase user stickiness, we refined private messaging features across various scenarios, introduced more innovative features and enhanced the comment ranking system. In terms of algorithm, we developed new approaches to improve user retention by modeling users' diverse interests, user-to-user follow relationships and drivers for opening the Kuaishou App.
In terms of content operations, we have established a unique, multi-faceted ecosystem by developing specialized content verticals aligned with users' interests, supporting standout creators whose content represents Kuaishou's distinctive brand, and expanding our brand visibility and user reach with high-profile events. In the sports vertical, as a rights-holding broadcaster of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, we delivered a comprehensive content matrix that included panoramic on-demand event coverage, exclusive self-developed IP content, interactive features, and diverse user-generated content, creating an all-encompassing Olympic experience for users. During the Olympic Games Paris 2024, Olympic-related content on the Kuaishou App generated 310.6 billion impressions, with 640 million users watching the Olympic Games on our platform and generating 15.9 billion interactions.
With respect to our search business, in the third quarter of 2024, we optimized the search results page to improve user experience, significantly increasing our search user penetration. In the third quarter of 2024, average MAUs for Kuaishou searches exceeded 500 million, and average daily searches increased by over 20.0% year-over-year to over 700 million with daily searches peaking at over 800 million. Moreover, user searches accelerated the growth of our revenue-generating businesses related to searches by enabling us to gain deeper insights into users' needs.
Online marketing services
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