Chinese video game livestreaming platform Douyu (NASDAQ: DOYU) reported a strong performance in the first quarter of 2020, with a 53% year-on-year (YoY) increase in revenue to RMB 2.3 billion (USD 321.1 million), the company announced on Tuesday.
Beating market expectations of RMB 2.12 billion, Douyu’s share price surged 18.67% to USD 8.20 in Tuesday trading following the earnings release.
The company’s revenue was mainly generated from its core game-livestreaming business, which generated RMB 2.1 billion (USD 296.2 million), a 56% YoY increase, accounting for around 93% of total revenues.
Douyu’s user base actually declined slightly from 159.2 million monthly active users (MAUs) to 158.1 million MAUs despite the lockdown, while mobile MAUs grew 15.3% YoY to 56.5 million during the quarter. The paying user count on the platform also rose by 26.2% YoY to 7.6 million, while average revenue per user (ARPU) grew by 23.7% YoY to RMB 280 (USD 39.24) in the first quarter.
Douyu’s CEO Chen Shaojie told investors on the earnings call that MAUs have remained stable as Chinese society has resumed normal work routines in April and May. Chen also assured investors that despite encroachment in the game live-streaming industry from new entrants Kuaishou and Bilibili (NASDAQ: BILI), high-quality players in the sector will only raise the industry standard going forward.
The Wuhan-based firm also disclosed that the total number of streamers with revenue above RMB 10,000 per quarter has grown 40% YoY during the quarter.
Douyu’s business was loss-making in 2018 and began to turn a profit in the first quarter of 2019. Net income rose steadily from RMB 18.2 million in the first quarter of 2019 to RMB 254.5 million in the three months ended March 31, 2020.
For the second quarter, Douyu forecasted revenues of between RMB 2.36 billion to RMB 2.41 billion, representing annual increases of between 26.0% and 28.7%.