LIZHI, Himalaya's most competitive rival, achieved decent performance in the second quarter of 2022, with a spike in the record-high gross margin at 34%.
Audio-based social and entertainment company LIZHI (LIZI:NASDAQ) announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter on August 18, with a slight decrease in net revenues to CNY 515.7 million (USD 77 million) compared with the previous quarter.
Gross profit was CNY 175.6 million (USD 26.2 million) in the second quarter of 2022, representing an increase of 11% from CNY 158.8 million in the second quarter of 2021. Notably, LIZHI's gross margin hit a record high at 34% in the second quarter, up 600 basis points year-over-year.
More excitingly, LIZHI went out of red and documented a positive net income of CNY 18.9 million in the second quarter of 2022, compared to a net loss of CNY 29.0 million in the same period of 2021. The reduction in operating expenses from CNY 190.3 million to CNY 161.6 million in the second quarter of 2022 is one of the key contributors.
The average total mobile MAUs (49.7 million, down 18.4% YoY) as well as the monthly paying users (485.1 thousand, down 1.9% YoY) all witnessed a drop in the second quarter of 2022. LIZHI said it was primarily due to the reduced advertisement spending on users with lower commercialization capability.
The domestic rivals of the firm include Dragonfly FM and Himalaya. To further secure its position in the audio user-generated-content track, the company will remain dedicated to executing its diversified product matrix strategy and enhancing core technology development to progress product innovation and commercialization, said LIZHI.
As of press time, LIZHI shares closed 43.09% higher to USD 1.76 apiece, with a market cap of USD 89.42 million.