BRIEF: Paying user decline drags down Hello Group’s profit

Dating app operator Hello Group (MOMO.US) announced on Monday its revenue reached 2.67 billion yuan ($381 million) in third quarter, down 12.1% year-on-year but ahead of market expectations. Its net profit dropped 17.7% to 449 million yuan from 546 million yuan in the same period last year.

In the third quarter, the company’s core Momo app had 6.9 million paying users, down 11.5% from 7.8 million in the same period last year. Meanwhile, its smaller Tantan app had 0.9 million paying users, down sharply from 1.4 million a year earlier.

Revenue from live video services fell 16% to 1.29 billion yuan from 1.53 billion yuan in the same period last year. Value-added services revenue decreased by 7.5% to 1.36 billion yuan. The company attributed the declines mainly to operational and product adjustments due to weak macro-consumption, as well as the impact of its declining subscriber base and product upgrades.

Hello Group said it expects fourth quarter revenue to range between 2.56 billion and 2.66 billion yuan, exceeding market expectations. The company’s stock rose 9.16% to $7.39 in New York on Monday after the report’s release.

By Lee Shih Ta

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