China Live Streaming Giant DouYu Net Revenue Declines Over 23% In Q3 2022

Douyu (Chinese:斗鱼, NASDAQ:DOYU) released its third quarter 2022 financial results on November 21. 

Douyu's total net revenues in the third quarter of 2022 decreased by 23.4% to CNY 1,798.3 million (USD 252.8 million), compared with CNY 2,348.0 million in the same period of 2021. Its net loss was CNY 6.6 million, compared with CNY 143.5 million in the same period of 2021.

Besides, it is worth noting that Douyu recorded an adjusted net income (loss) of CNY 25.7 million in the third quarter, compared with an adjusted net loss of CNY 72.7 million in the same period in 2021, which was a year-on-year turnaround.

The revenue from Douyu's two main businesses both declined. The financial report showed that Douyu's revenue from live streaming in Q3 2022 was CNY 1.705 billion, down 22.9% from CNY 2.211 billion in the same period of 2021, while its advertising and other revenue was CNY 93.3 million, down 32.1% year-on-year from CNY 137.5 million in the same period of 2021.

In its earnings report, Douyu attributed the decline to the soft demand for advertisements under the weak macro economy. But when compared to rival Huya's advertising revenue, which fell by a modest 3.29% in the third quarter, Douyu's drop in that revenue was not insignificant.

In spite of the overall revenue decline, Douyu still improved its profitability by reducing costs in Q3. Its cost of revenue for Q3 was USD1,547.1 million, down 25.2% from 2021, a higher rate of decline than total revenue. And its gross margin rose to 14.0% from 11.9% a year earlier. 

In terms of user data, Douyu's average monthly active users reached 57.1 million in Q3, down 7.7% year-on-year and up 2.5% quarter-on-quarter. The number of Douyu's paid subscribers was 5.6 million in the third quarter, down 22.2% from 7.2 million in the same period in 2021.

As of press time, Douyu closed at USD 1.13 apiece, with a market cap of USD 359 million.