Weibo passes the $1bn mark in revenues as the social networking site posts strong growth
Weibo has secured revenues of more than $1bn for the 2017 fiscal year, as growth in advertising and marketing revenues helps the social network back to strong health.
Weibo secures comeback with strong 2017 results
The micro-messaging app, which is often described as China’s Twitter, posted net revenues of $1.15bn for the 2017 fiscal year – a 75% increase on the previous year.
The strong result was driven by surging advertising and marketing revenues which reached $996.7m, up 75% year-on-year, while value-added service (VAU) jumped 81% to reach $153.3m in revenues for 2017.
The fiscal year results were buoyed by a strong fourth quarter result, which saw Weibo exceed expectations and company guidance to secure a 77% increase year-on-year with Q4 net revenues of $377.4m.
Weibo’s userbase continues to experience growth, with the platform adding 79 million monthly active users to reach 392 million in December 2017 - 93% of these users access the site via mobile. Weibo also welcomed 33 million new daily active users ("DAUs") to reach 172 million users at the end of last year.
Weibo chief executive officer Gaofei Wang said, "We have achieved an important milestone as our total revenues for full-year 2017 surpassed $1bn. Revenues from SMEs, key accounts and non-advertising all saw robust growth, while our profit and user base reached new highs.
"Weibo's powerful network effect combined with our continued user growth and user engagements as well as breadth of ad offerings have solidified Weibo as an essential element of mobile marketing in China further strengthens Weibo's leading position in the social media industry at large," said Wang.