Phoenix New Media - Earnings Call - Q1 2025

Transcript

Operator (participant)

You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to our speaker today, Muzi Guo from Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Muzi Guo (Investor Relations Manager)

Thank you, Operator. Welcome to Phoenix New Media's earnings conference call for the first quarter of 2025. Today's call will begin with an overview of our quarterly results, followed by a Q&A session. Our quarterly financial results and the webcast of this conference call are available on our website at ir.ifeng.com. Before we continue, please note the safe harbor statement in our earnings press release, which applies to any forward-looking statements made during this call. Unless otherwise stated, all figures mentioned are in RMB. Joining me here today are our CEO, Mr. Yusheng Sun, and our CFO, Mr. Edward Lu. I will now pass the call to Mr. Sun for his opening remarks. I will provide translation as needed. 孙总，请您讲话。

Yusheng Sun (CEO)

嗯，好。各位投资人，大家好。2025年第一季度，面对复杂多变的全球和地区热点，我们始终以领先的速度和深度提供权威报道，展现专业洞察，巩固行业领先地位。我们持续推动内容创新，凭借优质内容生产和传播能力，为用户和广告客户创造价值，成功撬动新的商业合作。展望第二季度，我们将继续深化创新，拓展商业机会，优化运营效率，致力于创造长期价值。下面请吕静带我做更详细的第一季度经营的总结。

Muzi Guo (Investor Relations Manager)

好，谢谢孙总。 Hello everyone and welcome. In Q1 2025, Phoenix New Media navigated complex global and regional events, consistently delivering authoritative reporting with unmatched speed and depth, showcasing professional insight and reinforcing our industry leadership. Through sustained content innovation, we leverage our quality content creation and distribution capabilities to deliver value to users and advertising clients, unlocking new commercial partnerships. Looking to Q2, we will further deepen content innovation, expand commercial opportunities, and enhance operational efficiency, remaining committed to delivering long-term value for investors. Now, I will invite Edward to provide a more detailed summary of our first quarter performance on my behalf.

Edward Lu (CFO)

Okay, thank you, Muzi. In the first quarter of 2025, we showcased strong momentum by leading breaking news, driving content innovation, and unlocking new commercial opportunities. Our content team excelled amid global trade volatility, regional political turbulence, natural disasters, and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, consistently delivering authoritative reporting with unparalleled speed and depth. Across major Q1 events, from South Korea's political upheaval to Trump's tariff escalation and the new energy vehicle safety concerns, we were frequently first to break the story, setting the pace for industry coverage. Our approach goes beyond headlines, diving into the courses, personal stories, and the critical details that resonate with audiences while fostering active user engagement through interactive formats.

For instance, our investigative series on Trump's tariffs and their impact on Asian markets, alongside exposés on NEV fire risks and DeepSeek's AI breakthroughs, sparked vibrant discussions, ranking high on major social media platforms. Meanwhile, we advanced content innovation by developing unique IPs that deliver exceptional value to users and brands. A key highlight was the launch of KCA Links, a co-creation model blending professional and user-generated content. Partnering with leading KOLs and KOCs in finance and tech, we crafted immersive experiences from trade show tours and factory deep dives to industrial park visits that highlight corporate innovation, operational strength, and strategic vision, significantly boosting brand trust and visibility. Equally compelling is our new column, Why It Is, which debuted with an in-depth look at Pop Mart's artistic industrialization model and global ambitions, resonating strongly with brands seeking innovative frameworks.

The launch garnered over 100,000 WeChat reads and widespread shares on social media, reflecting robust engagement and social impact. We are confident this series will continue to gain momentum, establishing a benchmark in its category. These content innovations translated directly into commercial success, showcasing our ability to convert creative excellence into business value. A prime example is our tech channel's Tesla FSD China rollout. Within three hours, we connected with car owners and broadcast our first-to-market live test, with exclusive footage driving viral attention and endorsements from industrial leaders on X. Building on this, our live plus short video plus trending topic strategy fueled a comparative test of automakers' intelligent driving systems, sparking cross-platform buzz, including retreats from the CEO of top-tier NEV makers. This approach allowed us to swiftly secure branding partnerships with top industry players.

Beyond high-profile tech events, we also unlocked value through authentic storytelling in routine coverage. During the two sessions, we captured the authentic story of a prominent industry leader, the chairman of a leading global corporation, in a short video that went viral, reaching over 60 million views. This surge elevated their personal brand, boosting their company's visibility and sales. It highlights a growing opportunity, using our content expertise to craft compelling intrapreneur IPs. As businesses prioritize authentic, leader-driven narratives, clients are turning to us to amplify these stories, creating new branding resources. Looking to Q2 2025, we will deepen our commitment to content innovation, creating more viral IPs to bolster user loyalty and brand influence. We will keep delivering tailored, high-impact solutions for advertisers, expanding commercial avenues while sharpening operational efficiency. This concludes our CEO, Mr. Sun's prepared remarks.

I will now walk you through our financial performance for the first quarter of 2025. All figures mentioned will be in RMB. Our total revenue was RMB 155.2 million, representing a 1.4% increase year-on-year from RMB 153 million. Specifically, net advertising revenues were RMB 120.5 million, compared to RMB 138.6 million in the same period of last year. Paid services revenues were RMB 34.7 million, representing a 141% increase year-on-year from RMB 14.4 million. Primarily driven by revenue generated from our digital reading services, offered through mini programs on third-party applications. Cost of revenues decreased by 15.1% to RMB 92.5 million, from RMB 109 million in the same period of last year. Total operating expenses were RMB 101.1 million, reflecting a 25.6% increase year-on-year from RMB 80.5 million. This increase was primarily due to higher sales and marketing expenses incurred for the digital reading services mentioned earlier.

Loss from operations was RMB 38.4 million, compared to RMB 36.5 million in the same period of last year. Net loss attributable to Ifeng was RMB 29.7 million, compared to RMB 26 million in the same period of last year. Moving on to our balance sheet. As of March 31st, 2025, the company's cash and cash equivalents, term deposits, short-term investments, and restricted cash totaled RMB 984.5 million, or approximately $135.7 million. Finally, I'd like to provide our business outlook for the second quarter of 2025. We forecast total revenues to be between RMB 182.1 million and RMB 197.1 million. For net advertising revenues, we project between RMB 148.7 million and RMB 158.7 million, while for paid service revenues, we project between RMB 33.4 million and RMB 38.4 million. This forecast reflects our current and preliminary view, which is subject to change and substantial uncertainties. This concludes the prepared portion of our call. We are now ready for questions.

Operator, please go ahead.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. As a reminder, to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please stand by as we compile the Q&A roster. Our first question comes from Alice Tang, of First Shanghai. Your line is now open.

Alice Tang (VP and Senior Equity Research Analyst)

Good morning, management. I was wondering, could you please share some insights on the trends and outlook for the company's advertising business in Q1 2025? Thank you.

Edward Lu (CFO)

Hi, morning, Alice. Thank you very much for the question. Actually, in Q1 2025, our advertising business faced severe challenges, but our team responded actively, showing strong resilience. First, while the number of existing clients remained steady, their spending became more cautious, reducing average revenue per client. To address this, we focused on attracting new clients, and their revenue grew significantly, balancing the decline from existing clients. Second, some industries had seasonal fluctuations. For example, alcohol advertising dropped sharply, but we expanded quickly in finance, e-commerce, consumer goods, and electronics, achieving good progress. Also, certain clients had strong demand, but their projects required high investment and cost. So we focused on refining our creative content resources and events to increase our pricing premium. Looking to Q2, advertisers are still cautious with marketing spending, but improving compared to Q1.

Based on market research, advertisers are focusing more on brand value and media influence. We will continue to use our strengths as a leading internet media platform, offering high-quality content and campaigns to create value for clients. Besides growing new industries and domestic clients, we are also exploring marketing partnerships with overseas companies in China. Our team is dedicated to staying competitive in this market. Thank you, Alice.

Muzi Guo (Investor Relations Manager)

Thank you.

Alice Tang (VP and Senior Equity Research Analyst)

That's really clear. Thank you.

Operator (participant)

Thank you for all the questions. This concludes the Q&A session. I will now pass the conference back to Muzi.

Muzi Guo (Investor Relations Manager)

Thank you. We have now come to the end of our Q&A session and conference call. If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. Thank you for joining us and have a great day.

Operator (participant)

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.