Weibo profits surge 184% driven by strong advertising and marketing revenues
Weibo has reported an 184% jump in profits to reach a record $73.5m off the back of a strong advertising and marketing business, according to the companies second quarter results.
Weibo reports strong second quarter results
China’s Twitter-like microblogging platform, reported a 72% increase in net revenues of $253.4m, driven by advertising and marketing revenues which increased 72% year-on-year to reach $218.3m.
Weibo’s monthly active users (MAUs) grew 28% year-on-year to reach 361 million in June 2017, with 92% of these mobile users. Average daily active users increased 26% to 159 million.
The figures exceeded the company’s expectations with Weibo projecting a 64% increase in its third-quarter results to achieve revenues of between $290 million and $300 million.
Gaofei Wang, chief executive of Weibo, said in a statement: "We continue to see great momentum in our business. Revenues from SMEs, key accounts and non-advertising all saw robust growth, while our profit and user base reached new highs.”
"These strong results give us confidence that our strategy to focus on developing a unique and expansive content ecosystem, launching engaging features like Weibo Stories, and attracting KOLs, celebrities and other influencers to increase the social and viral nature of Weibo is boding well for us."
Weibo users overtook Twitter users for the first time earlier this year. Twitter users remain stagnant at 328 million monthly active users in Q2, as Weibo continues to experience growth.
Weibo's market value surged this week as a result of the Q2 report, it is now valued at almost double that of Twitter, according to Bloomberg.