Raphael Chen

Raphael Chen inquired about JOYY's latest thoughts and strategies regarding its shareholder return initiatives.

Answer

Jane Xie, Senior Manager of Investor Relations, on behalf of Alex Liu, Vice President of Finance, confirmed that JOYY is steadily executing its three-year, $900 million shareholder return program for 2025-2027. As of November 14th, $148 million had been paid in dividends and $88.6 million in shares repurchased, with buyback execution accelerating in Q3. Given the perceived undervaluation of shares and anticipated growth in operating profit, JOYY plans to actively accelerate share buybacks and expects enhanced returns for shareholders over time.

Raphael Chen of BOCI Research Limited inquired about the company's shareholder return policies and other capital return strategies.

Answer

VP of Finance Alex Liu reiterated that shareholder returns are a key priority, citing the $49.1 million in dividends and $22.5 million in share repurchases. He explained that capital allocation is balanced between shareholder returns and reinvestment, with prudent expansion of resources for high-growth non-live streaming businesses while optimizing ROI in the stable live streaming segment.

Raphael Chen of BOCI Research Limited inquired about the company's shareholder return policies and other capital return strategies.

Answer

VP of Finance Alex Liu confirmed that shareholder returns remain a key priority. He cited the $49.1 million in dividends and $22.5 million in share repurchases in Q1. Liu explained the strategy of balancing capital allocation between the stable, cash-flow-positive live streaming business and the high-growth non-live streaming businesses. He assured that the company will prudently expand resources for growth areas while maintaining competitive shareholder returns.

Raphael Chen of BOCI Research Limited requested insights into the company's shareholder return policies and other capital allocation strategies.

Answer

VP of Finance Alex Liu reiterated that shareholder returns are a key component of their capital strategy, citing the $49.1 million in dividends and $22.5 million in share repurchases executed in Q1. He clarified that the company is also prudently allocating capital to support its accelerating non-live streaming businesses by expanding headcount and marketing resources. Liu stressed that the strategy is to balance strategic reinvestment for sustainable growth with maintaining competitive shareholder returns.

Raphael Chen from BOCI Research asked about the expected user and financial impacts from the company's strategic adjustments to tournament procurement and streamer contracts.

Answer

Simin Ren, Co-Chief Executive Officer, detailed a two-pronged approach to cost restructuring. For copyrighted content, Douyu will forego acquiring high-cost tournaments with low ROI, focusing on more cost-effective events like Peacekeeper Elite and King Pro League. For streamer content, the company is adopting flexible contracting models and reducing compensation costs. Ren acknowledged these adjustments could cause a temporary decline in traffic and livestreaming revenue but stated they are crucial for long-term health. She anticipates a significant year-over-year decrease in 2025 content costs and a notable improvement in gross margin.

Raphael Chen from BOCI Research followed up on the collaboration with game developers, asking about the current revenue contribution, the games included, and future plans.

Answer

Hao Cao, Vice President of Finance, detailed two main approaches: game prop sales and a performance-based (CPS) game promotion model. He noted that while direct revenue from promotional channels is minor, the facilitated GMV is meaningful, and game memberships have substantially boosted 'other revenues'. The company has collaborations across over 10 games and expects 'Advertising and other revenues' to grow year-over-year in 2024, exceeding 20% of total revenue.