WUHAN, China, Nov. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- DouYu International Holdings Limited ("DouYu" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: DOYU), a leading game-centric live streaming platform in China and a pioneer in the eSports value chain, today announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2022.

Third Quarter 2022 Financial and Operational Highlights

• Total net revenues in the third quarter of 2022 were RMB1,798.3 million (US$252.8 million) compared with RMB2,348.0 million in the same period of 2021.
• Gross profit in the third quarter of 2022 was RMB251.2 million (US$35.3 million), compared with RMB278.5 million in the same period of 2021.
• Net loss in the third quarter of 2022 was RMB6.6 million (US$0.9 million), compared with RMB143.5 million in the same period of 2021.
• Adjusted net income (loss)^[1] in the third quarter of 2022 was RMB25.7 million (US$3.6 million), compared with an adjusted net loss of RMB72.7 million in the same period of 2021.
• Average mobile MAUs^[2] in the third quarter of 2022 decreased by 7.7% to 57.1 million from 61.9 million in the same period of 2021.
• Quarterly average paying user^[3] count in the third quarter of 2022 was 5.6 million, compared with 7.2 million in the same period of 2021.

Mr. Shaojie Chen, Chief Executive Officer of DouYu, commented, "During the third quarter, we achieved stable and holistic business development as we navigated through a challenging macro environment. We stabilized our user base through continuous innovation and investment in our content and service offerings, while further improving revenue quality and augmenting our cost control initiatives. This quarter, our mobile MAUs grew by 2.5%  to 57.1 million compared to last quarter. We also delivered a steady financial performance, realizing an adjusted net profit of RMB25.7 million. Going forward, we will further advance our game-centric ecosystem and deepen our collaboration with game developers, leveraging games' unique features and our abundant streamer resources to cultivate and iterate game content and interactive features. Driven by the vibrancy of our gaming communities, we endeavor to execute our growth strategy to develop and enrich our comprehensive game-centric content platform. We will maintain our leading position in the traditional livestreaming industry while exploring new initiatives to drive sustainable and healthy growth."

Mr. Hao Cao, Vice President of DouYu, commented, "Our total revenue in the third quarter reached RMB1.8 billion, and our gross profit was RMB251.2 million, representing a gross margin of 14%. We also achieved an adjusted net income of RMB25.7 million. During this quarter, we continued to invest in high-quality self-produced content, and maintained a steady performance of our livestreaming business, while exploring new game-related business models. At the same time, we delivered an adjusted net profit for the second consecutive quarter, a result of our ongoing efforts to implement cost controls and optimize expenses. As of the end of the third quarter, we had cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term and long-term bank deposits of RMB6,872.7 million. Our abundant cash reserves would allow us to retain agility despite of the challenging macro environment, meaning that we can continue to stabilize and improve the financial performance of our core business. Looking ahead, we will proactively explore diversified avenues for monetization and refine our operating model in order to generate long-term shareholder value."       

Third Quarter 2022 Financial Results

Total net revenues in the third quarter of 2022 decreased by 23.4% to RMB1,798.3 million (US$252.8 million), compared with RMB2,348.0 million in the same period of 2021.

Livestreaming revenues in the third quarter of 2022 decreased by 22.9% to RMB1,705.0 million (US$239.7 million) from RMB2,210.5 million in the same period of 2021. The decrease was primarily due to the ongoing implementation of prudent operating strategies which primarily included the Company's adjustments to certain interactive features and related operations to promote the long-term development of its platform.

Advertising and other revenues in the third quarter of 2022 were RMB93.3 million (US$13.1 million), compared with RMB137.5 million in the same period of 2021. The decrease was primarily due to the continued exploration of new commercialization models by using a portion of advertising traffic that could have been directly monetized, as well as the soft demand for advertisements under the weak macro economy. The decrease was partially offset by the increase in other revenues contributed by game-specific membership services. 

Cost of revenues in the third quarter of 2022 was RMB1,547.1 million (US$217.5 million), a decrease of 25.2% compared with RMB2,069.5 million in the same period of 2021. 

Revenue sharing fees and content costs in the third quarter of 2022 decreased to RMB1,319.6 million (US$185.5 million) from RMB1,839.9 million in the same period of 2021. The decrease was primarily due to decreased revenue sharing fees which outpaced the decrease in livestreaming revenues, as well as a significant decrease in copyright costs.

Bandwidth costs in the third quarter of 2022 decreased by 17.4% to RMB135.0 million (US$19.0 million) from RMB163.4 million in the same period of 2021. The decrease was mainly due to higher bandwidth efficiency achieved from dynamic bandwidth allocation, as well as a year-over-year reduction in peak bandwidth usage.

Gross profit in the third quarter of 2022 was RMB251.2 million (US$35.3 million), compared with RMB278.5 million in the same period of 2021. Gross margin in the third quarter of 2022 improved to 14.0% from 11.9% in the same period of 2021. The increase in gross margin was primarily due to the decreases in both copyright costs and revenue sharing fees as a percentage of total net revenues, which was partially offset by the increase in other costs as a percentage of total net revenues.

Sales and marketing expenses in the third quarter of 2022 decreased 25.9% to RMB162.1 million (US$22.8 million) from RMB218.9 million in the same period of 2021. The decrease was mainly attributable to the significant decrease in marketing expenses for user acquisition and branding expenses.

Research and development expenses in the third quarter of 2022 decreased 31.5% to RMB84.4 million (US$11.9 million) from RMB123.2 million in the same period of 2021. The decrease was primarily attributable to the decrease in personnel-related expenses.

General and administrative expenses in the third quarter of 2022 decreased 39.5% to RMB52.3 million (US$7.4 million) from RMB86.5 million in the same period of 2021, mainly due to the decrease in share-based compensation expenses and professional service fees.

Other operating income, net in the third quarter of 2022 was RMB36.5 million (US$5.1 million), compared with RMB25.8 million in the same period of 2021.

Loss from operations in the third quarter of 2022 was RMB11.1 million (US$1.6 million), compared with RMB124.3 million in the same period of 2021.

Adjusted operating loss in the third quarter of 2022, which adds back share-based compensation expenses, was RMB8.4 million (US$1.2 million), compared with adjusted operating loss of RMB91.0 million in the same period of 2021.

Net loss in the third quarter of 2022 was RMB6.6 million (US$0.9 million), compared with RMB143.5 million in the same period of 2021.

Adjusted net income(loss) in the third quarter of 2022, which excludes share-based compensation expenses, share of loss in equity method investments, and impairment loss of investments, was RMB25.7 million (US$3.6 million), compared with adjusted net loss of RMB72.7 million in the same period of 2021.

Basic and diluted net loss per ADS^[4] in the third quarter of 2022 were RMB0.01 (US$0.001) and RMB0.01 (US$0.001), respectively. Adjusted basic and diluted net income per ADS in the third quarter of 2022 were RMB0.09 (US$0.01) and RMB0.09 (US$0.01), respectively.

Cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and bank deposits

As of September 30, 2022, the Company had cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term and long-term bank deposits of RMB6,872.7 million (US$966.2 million), compared with RMB6,643.5 million as of December 31, 2021.

Conference Call Information

The Company will hold a conference call on November 21, 2022, at 7:00 am Eastern Time (or 8:00pm Beijing Time on the same day) to discuss the financial results. Listeners may access the call by dialing the following numbers:

The replay will be accessible through November 28, 2022, by dialing the following numbers:

A live and archived webcast of the conference call will also be available at the Company's investor relations website at https://ir.douyu.com/.

About DouYu International Holdings Limited

Headquartered in Wuhan, China, DouYu International Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: DOYU) is a leading game-centric live streaming platform in China and a pioneer in the eSports value chain. DouYu operates its platform on both PC and mobile apps to bring users access to immersive and interactive games and entertainment livestreaming, a wide array of video and graphic contents, as well as opportunities to participate in community events and discussions. By nurturing a sustainable technology-based talent development system and relentlessly producing high-quality content, DouYu consistently delivers premium content through integration of livestreaming, video, graphics, and virtual communities with a primary focus on games, especially on eSports. This enables DouYu to continuously expand its user base and enhance its user experience. For more information, please see https://ir.douyu.com/.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Adjusted operating income (loss) is calculated as operating income (loss) adjusted for share-based compensation expenses. Adjusted net income (loss) is calculated as net income (loss) adjusted for share-based compensation expenses, share of income (loss) in equity method investments and impairment loss on investments. Adjusted net income (loss) attributable to DouYu is calculated as net income (loss) attributable to DouYu adjusted for share-based compensation expenses, share of income (loss) in equity method investments and impairment loss of investments. Adjusted basic and diluted net income per ordinary share is non-GAAP net income attributable to ordinary shareholders divided by weighted average number of ordinary shares used in the calculation of non-GAAP basic and diluted net income per ordinary share. The Company adjusted the impact of (i) share-based compensation expenses, (ii) share of income (loss) in equity method investments, (iii) impairment loss of investments to understand and evaluate the Company's core operating performance. The non-GAAP financial measures are presented to enhance investors' overall understanding of the Company's financial performance and should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of the historical non-GAAP financial measures to its most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. As non-GAAP financial measures have material limitations as analytical metrics and may not be calculated in the same manner by all companies, they may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies. In light of the foregoing limitations, you should not consider non-GAAP financial measures as a substitute for, or superior to, such metrics in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the table captioned "Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Results" near the end of this release.

Exchange Rate Information

This announcement contains translations of certain RMB amounts into U.S. dollars at a specified rate solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from RMB to U.S. dollars are made at a rate of RMB7.1135 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate in effect on September 30, 2022, in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board. The Company makes no representation that the RMB amounts could have been, or could be, converted, realized or settled in U.S. dollars at that rate on September 30, 2022, or at any other rate.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and a number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: the Company's results of operations and financial condition; the Company's business strategies; general market conditions, in particular the game live streaming market; the ability of the Company to retain and grow active and paying users; changes in general economic and business conditions in China; the impact of the COVID-19 to the Company's business operations and the economy in China and globally; any adverse changes in laws, regulations, rules, policies or guidelines applicable to the Company; and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "target," "aim," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "potential," "continue," "is/are likely to" or other similar expressions. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company's filings with the Securities Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake any duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

Investor Relations Contact

Lingling Kong
DouYu International Holdings Limited
Email: ir@douyu.tv
Phone: +1 (646) 224-6934

Robin Yang
ICR, LLC
Email: DouYu.IR@icrinc.com
Phone: +1 (646) 224-6934

Media Relations Contact

Lingling Kong
DouYu International Holdings Limited
Email: pr_douyu@douyu.tv
Phone: +1 (646) 308-1475

Edmond Lococo
ICR, LLC
Email: DouYu.PR@icrinc.com
Phone: +1 (646) 308-1475