Total revenue for JOYY in the second quarter of 2023 was US$547.3 million, with US$471.1 million coming from the BIGO segment. With GAAP and non-GAAP net margins[1] of 28.3% and 17.8%, respectively, JOYY reported net profit and non-GAAP net profit[1] of US$155.1 million and US$97.3 million. In addition to increasing its GAAP and non-GAAP operating profit margins to 12.8% and 16.0%, respectively, the BIGO division earned operating profits of US$60.4 million and US$75.5 million[1].
JOYY continued to have a $61.8 million positive operating cash flow. At the same time, JOYY’s global MAUs increased to 275.6 million on both a year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter basis. Particularly noteworthy is the continued significant growth momentum of Bigo Live’s MAUs. This was the fifth straight quarter that Bigo Live saw double-digit MAU increase from the previous year.
Additionally, during the second quarter, JOYY dramatically increased the amount of shares it was buying back, doing so with an additional US$214.3 million. Through share buybacks and dividends, it gave its stockholders a total return of US$299.7 million in the first half of this year.
Chairman & CEO of JOYY, Mr. David Xueling Li, stated: “Powered by continuous product advancements and operational refinements, BIGO effectively navigated macro headwinds and enhanced its GAAP and non-GAAP operating margins. At the same time, year over year and quarter over quarter growth was seen in our global MAUs. Notably, Bigo Live maintained a solid user growth trend, growing its MAUs to 38.5 million by 18.0% y/y.
Through continued product and operational advancements, we will continue to promote effective, high-quality growth moving forward and give priority to initiatives that are consistent with our long-term strategy.
In contrast to the same period in 2022, when net revenues were US$596.1 million, they were US$547.3 million.
When compared to the same time in 2022, JOYY’s net income attributable to controlling interest was US$155.1 million as opposed to US$18.7 million.
In contrast to the same period in 2022, JOYY’s non-GAAP net income[1] attributable to controlling interest and common shareholders was US$97.3 million as opposed to US$51.5 million.
Bigo Live kept up its five-quarter streak of double-digit user growth during the second quarter, with MAUs rising 18.0% year over year to 38.5 million. Growth was seen in a number of important locations, including 10.3% yearly growth rates in Europe, 14.9% yearly growth rates in the Middle East, and 20.8% yearly growth rates in Southeast Asia and other emerging markets. Bigo Live introduced a number of themed events throughout the quarter, bringing a steady stream of varied, entertaining, and educational content.
Users can access local and paid content. A social media influencer helped Bigo Live launch a reality dating show in North America in April. This was the second original reality show whose local Bigo Live crew handled all aspects of its production, including script planning, filming, production, and marketing. The May Bigo Live Family Month event attracted a lot of user interest and attention. In comparison to the first quarter, the number of contractual streamers who are Family members increased by 5.1%, and the number of daily paying users who are Family members increased by 3.8%.
The second quarter saw a 26.5% sequential increase in the amount of BAR video content produced, while the overall number of video shares and downloads more than doubled. On the content development front, Bigo Live continued to focus on encouraging the creation of video content in the BAR channel. Bigo Live improved social interactions at the same time, leading to a 1.0% sequential rise in the number of users entering multi-guest rooms and a 15.1% sequential increase in the number of users actively participating in each live session.
Bigo Live is actively and progressively integrating social responsibility into its daily activities in tandem with these advances. Bigo Live provided assistance throughout the quarter to a number of initiatives run by a number of overseas organisations, including the Children’s Cancer Centre of Lebanon (CCCL) and the Indonesian Cancer Foundation (YKI).
Likee’s priority is to increase the effectiveness of product monetization and the capacity for organic user acquisition. Likee boosted its revenues by 11.2% sequentially during the second quarter and kept up its product-level profitability. After first doing so in the second half of last year, it has now achieved breakeven for two consecutive half-years. Additionally, Likee improved user interactions inside its neighbourhood. The ratio of DAUs to MAUs, which measures total user engagement, climbed sequentially by 4.2% in the second quarter, while the average amount of time spent by users rose by 15.8% during the same period. The penetration rate of IM increased sequentially by 6.8% as it grew farther. Second quarter results
its creator services were further developed, and user content and social interactions were enhanced. Likee launched a video gathering option to speed up the video production process and boost creative productivity. In order to help producers improve their material and better match it with the interests of their audience, Likee also provided statistics and analytics tools. In order to create additional income channels, Likee has assisted its content creators by connecting them with e-commerce platforms and brand merchants.
The second quarter saw a 4.0% sequential growth in the number of official creators on Likee as a result of ongoing and extensive creator assistance programmes.
Hago’s revenue climbed by 6.4% sequentially during the second quarter because to ongoing improvements in monetization effectiveness and user social engagement. Hago introduced Celebration Rooms, a new category of multi-guest rooms customised for certain events like birthday parties, to improve consumers’ paying sentiment and increase profitability. Additionally, it added a voting feature to multi-guest rooms and gave Hago couples access to extra decorations and communication rights.
The distribution of multi-guest, real-time interactive rooms across various locations was also optimised by Hago, and the gamification of customising 3D avatars significantly improved users’ interactive social experiences. The rate of penetration of Hago’s social channels increased by 1.2% sequentially as a result of these product development initiatives. Hago’s daily average user time increased as well, up 5.2% from the first quarter of 2023.