BRIEF: Bilibili swings to profit as advertising revenue jumps

Video platform Bilibili Inc. (9626.HK; BILI.US)on Thursday reported a third-quarter net profit of 469 million yuan ($65.9 million), reversing a net loss of 79.8 million yuan in the same period last year. Its adjusted net profit jumped 233% year-on-year to 786 million yuan, as its profitability continued to improve.

The company’s revenue for the period rose 5% from a year earlier to 7.69 billion yuan. Its advertising revenue increased 23% to 2.57 billion yuan, while value-added services revenue grew 7% to 3.02 billion yuan. But its mobile game revenue fell 17% to 1.51 billion yuan, as it blamed a high base last year. The company’s gross margin improved to 36.7%, extending its quarter-on-quarter improvement streak for the figure to 13 consecutive quarters.

Bilibili’s user metrics also showed healthy momentum, with daily active users up 9% to 117 million, monthly active users up 8% to 376 million and monthly paying users up 17% to 35 million. Average daily time spent by its users grew by six minutes to a record 112 minutes. The company said it will continue to strengthen its advertising efficiency and content ecosystem, while maintaining disciplined investment amid rapid technological change to support long-term growth.

Bilibili’s stock opened higher on Thursday in New York but later reversed course and closed down 4.78% at $25.89.

By Lee Shih Ta

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