FAST NEWS: Newborn Town’s revenue dips in first quarter

The latest: Social networking platform operator Newborn Town Inc. (9911.HK) reported Thursday that revenue from its social networking business totaled between 580 million yuan ($84 million) and 600 million yuan in the first quarter, down 5.2% to 8.4% year-on-year, due to adjustments in its content ecology.

Looking up: The company’s innovation business recorded revenue of 50 million yuan to 70 million yuan for the quarter, up 11.1% to 55.6%, on smooth progress for its games and other businesses.

Take Note: Average monthly active users (MAU) for the company’s social networking business totaled about 22.33 million in the first quarter, up 0.2% quarter-over-quarter, representing a sharp slowdown from the 7% growth in the same period last year.

Digging Deeper: Founded in 2009, Newborn Town operates multiple social platforms combining entertainment elements such as dating, group voice chats, livestreaming and short video. It was listed in Hong Kong on the last day of 2019. Previously focused on emerging markets, the company has established mainstream social platforms in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and South Asia. It began to achieve breakthroughs in developed markets such as Europe, the U.S., Japan and South Korea, and expanded into new businesses such as mobile games, leading to a 99.7% surge in revenue to 2.36 billion yuan last year.

Market Reaction: Newborn Town’s shares jumped on Friday, closing up 8% at HK$1.64 by the midday break. The stock now trades near the lower end of its 52-week range.

Translation by Jony Ho

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