China Social Media Bilibili Trims Revenue Forecast, Gets A Bump In Users Amid Lockdowns

Bilibili, one of China’s most popular social media, trimmed its forecast for first-quarter revenue today, but also disclosed a bump in the number of users as Covid-related lockdowns force millions of citizens to stay indoors.

Average monthly active users were 293.6 million in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of 31.5% year from a year earlier, the Shanghai-headquartered company said in a statement on Monday. Average daily active users were 79.4 million, an increase of 32.0% year over year. Average daily time spent per user in the first quarter reached 95 minutes, the highest in the Company’s operating history Bilibili said.

Nevertheless it lowered its forecast of revenue for the first quarter to a range of 5.0 billion yuan, or about $780 million, to 5.1 billion yuan; that compares with a range of 5.3 billion yuan to 5.5 billion yuan as on March 3, 2022.

Bilibili reported net revenue of 3.9 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2021.

The company cited “macro-economic disruption caused by the unexpected Covid-19 resurgence nationwide in China, and the increased Covid-19 restrictions and lockdowns in major cities including Shanghai since mid-March” for the reduction in its first-quarter revenue forecast.

“While the near-term financial impact of Covid-19 is rapidly evolving and difficult to predict, our business fundamentals remain strong and our vibrant community continues to grow,” Bilibili said. “Zero-Covid” lockdowns are affecting tens of millions of people in China and disrupting supply chains and spending in the world’s second-largest economy. (See related post here.)

The company’s New York-traded shares have lost 77% of their value in the past year. Bilibili is also listed in Hong Kong.

CEO Chen Rui is worth $5.9 billion on the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List today.

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@rflannerychina