36Kr - Q3 2022
December 7, 2022
Transcript
Operator (participant)
Hello, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by for the 36Kr Holdings Inc. Third Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After management's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. Today's conference call is being recorded. I will now turn the call over to your host, Yang Li, IR Manager of the company. Please go ahead.
Yang Li (IR Manager)
Thank you very much. Hello, everyone, welcome to 36Kr Holdings Third Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. The company's financial and operational results were released earlier today and have been made available online. You can also view the earnings press release by visiting I.R. section of our website at ir.36kr.com. Participants on today's call will include our Co-chairman, CEO, Mr. Dagang Feng, and our Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Lin Wei. Mr. Feng will start the call by providing an overview of the company and performance highlights of the quarter in Chinese, followed by an English interpretation. Ms. Wei will provide details on the company's financial results before opening the call for your questions. Before we continue, please note that today's discussion will contain forward-looking statements made under the Safe Harbor Provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements involve inherent risk and uncertainties. As such, the company's results may be materially different from the views expressed today. Further information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties is included in the company's prospectus and other public filings as filed with the U.S. SEC. The company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable law. Please note that 36Kr earnings press re-release and this conference call include discussions of unaudited GAAP financial measures as well as unaudited non-GAAP financial measures. 36Kr's earnings press release contains reconciliation of the unaudited non-GAAP measures to the unaudited GAAP measures. Please note that all amounts mentioned are in RMB. I will now turn the call over to our Co-chairman and CEO, Mr. Dagang Feng. Da, please go ahead.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
Thank you.
Speaker 7
Thank you. Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining our third quarter 2022 earnings conference call. In the third quarter of 2022, we maintained steady growth across our business, highlighted by our fourth consecutive quarter of profitability. This strong performance in COVID-19 resurgences and macroeconomic headwinds was largely thanks to our due focus on boosting our influence and advancing commercialization. As we strove to empower the new economy sector throughout the third quarter, we continued to optimize our services and build barriers to competition with our content ecosystem, setting the stage for our ongoing excellent performance. To start, I'd like to share with you some of this quarter's breakthroughs and innovations in brand influence and commercialization. First, let's look at content. We are committed to creating value with our high-quality content.
It is the cornerstone of our development and powerhouse that propels continuous expansions of our brand influence. Bolstered by our content platform strategy, we still focus on PGC and UGC. We have enriched our content offerings and created a multidimensional content ecosystem encompassing pan-commerce, pan-technology and pan-lab content. In this quarter, we continued to produce engaging professionally created content with the number of our articles with over 100,000 page views climbing to over 155. Among them, several articles on pan-business and pan-life topics triggered heated discussion, driving PVs up to 300,000 and even beyond 800,000 in some cases. In addition, several of our original articles were recommended by WeChat's top stories selected in the third quarter, leading to a daily page views of over one million for several consecutive days.
I also like to highlight an insightful article written by our secondary market team in the third quarter. Haitian, a blockbuster which generates huge buzz and over 800,000 views. Our brand new article submedia outlet, 36Kr-Carbon, launched only six months ago, achieved nearly 200,000 views with its in-depth coverage of EcoFlow, getting the outlet off to a flying start which significantly boosted our visibility in the geo-carbon sector.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language] UGC 模 式 也 在 本 季 度 进 行 了 一 次 突 破 性 创 新 。 我 们 对 36 氪 客 户 端 的 动 态 广 场 进 行 运 营 优 化 ， 以 短 内 容 形 式 建 立 圈 子 文 化 ， 沉 淀 更 多 核 心 用 户 ， 话 题 内 容 得 到 更 多 的 关 注 与 响 应 ， 极 大 增 加 了 用 户 对 36 氪 的 粘 性 和 活 跃 度 。
Speaker 7
As for our UGC model, we implemented a breakthrough innovation in the third quarter by optimizing operations for the 36Kr app's latest post feature. We established a discussion forum for our short content, creating a self-perpetuating content creation circle. This boosted core user retention while also drawing attention and responses to our content, substantially reinforcing users stickiness.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language] 除 了 图 文 形 式 在 本 季 度 持 续 表 现 亮 眼 之 外 ， 在 短 视 频 、 直 播 等 内 容 形 式 上 ， 我 们 也 不 乏 发 出 新 的 活 力 。 短 视 频 方 面 ， 多 条 视 频 内 容 播 放 量 超 百 万 量 级 ， 并 引 发 网 友 热 议 ， 其 中 以 医 院 赚 钱 真 相 为 主 题 的 原 创 内 容 ， 在 B 站 的 浏 览 量 超 过 四 百 万 加 。 此 外 ，36 氪 短 视 频 凭 借 优 质 的 内 容 生 产 和 传 播 能 力 ， 荣 获 金 铜 奖 两 项 金 奖 和 一 项 铜 奖 ， 充 分 证 明 了 36 氪 短 视 频 的 内 容 原 创 能 力 、 商 业 化 能 力 以 及 品 牌 影 响 力 均 已 得 到 业 内 的 认 可 。 视 频 化 内 容 是 我 们 拓 展 用 户 多 样 性 的 行 之 有 效 的 手 段 之 一 。 截 至 本 年 第 三 季 度 ， 短 视 频 全 网 粉 丝 数 已 突 破 七 百 四 十 万 加 ， 其 中 短 视 频 在 B 站 的 粉 丝 数 量 于 10 月 底 突 破 一 百 五 十 万 ， 已 经 成 为 机 构 账 号 中 的 佼 佼 者 。
Speaker 7
In addition to our engrossing text and graphic content, video content is one of our most effective tools for increasing user diversity. We unleashed fresh vitality in our short video and live streaming content during the third quarter, with several of our short videos achieving over one million streams. Among them, our original content on the topic of the truth about how hospitals make money gained more than four million views on Bilibili. In addition, 36Kr received two gold medals and one copper medal at the China Content Marketing Awards for its excellence in content production and dissemination, highlighting the industry recognition of 36Kr's original content generation and commercialization capabilities, as well as our brand influence. As of the third quarter of this year, the number of our short video followers exceeded 7.4 million.
Among them, the number of our followers on Bilibili surpassed 1.5 million at the end of October, making us a leader among institutional accounts on Bilibili.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language]在 直 播 方 面 ， 后 浪 观 察 室 和 CEO 锦 囊 持 续 保 持 高 频 次 更 新 ， 输 出 优 质 内 容 与 新 颖 话 题 。 本 季 度 共 完 成 二 十 五 场 直 播 内 容 ， 其 中 后 浪 观 察 室 与 微 信 视 频 号 达 成 专 栏 合 作 ， 播 放 量 再 创 新 高 。
Speaker 7
Regarding the streaming, our Youth Watch and CEO Tips programs continue to pump out fresh content, producing a continuous stream of high quality reporting with coverage of new topics. Together, they completed 25 live streaming sessions in the third quarter. Notably, Youth Watch established cooperation with WeChat Channels accounts to launch a specialized column setting a new record in the number of streams generated.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language] 在 数 据 沉 淀 及 社 区 运 营 方 面 ， 利 用 过 往 在 一 二 级 市 场 的 经 验 积 累 ， 我 们 在 本 季 度 重 磅 推 出 了 36 氪 创 投 平 台 ， 以 36 氪 过 往 沉 淀 的 数 据 图 谱 ， 持 续 帮 助 早 期 项 目 融 资 发 展 。 截 至 目 前 ， 平 台 入 驻 超 一 万 家 初 创 企 业 ， 以 及 包 括 经 纬 、 梅 花 创 投 等 知 名 投 资 机 构 在 内 的 一 千 五 百 家 投 资 机 构 投 资 人 ， 平 均 周 对 接 次 数 超 过 一 千 次 。 所 有 的 伟 大 都 源 于 一 个 勇 敢 的 开 始 ， 这 是 我 们 从 媒 体 向 数 据 及 工 具 服 务 领 域 拓 展 的 又 一 项 新 的 尝 试 ， 助 力 更 多 优 质 初 ， 初 创 企 业 被 看 到 ， 被 投 资 。
Speaker 7
Beyond our UC, UGC, and PGC content, we also explore data accumulation and community operation during the quarter and leverage our experience in primary and secondary markets to launch the 36Kr venture capital platform. This platform capitalize on our data mining resources to continuously empower early stage projects to secure financing. As of now, the platform has attracted over 10,000 startup companies and over 1,500 institutional investors, including such big names as Matrix Partners and Plum Ventures. With 1,000 weekly connections facilitated on average. As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold. 36Kr venture capital platform marks a bold step for us as we expand beyond media service to data tools and funding facilitation services, enhancing visibility and exposure for high quality startup companies and connecting them with investors.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language] 在 以 上 种 种 内 容 措 施 和 成 果 的 加 持 下 ， 截 至 第 三 季 度 ， 我 们 的 全 网 粉 丝 数 同 比 增 长 百 分 之 十 八 点 六 ， 至 两 千 六 百 七 十 万 家 。 我 们 的 品 牌 影 响 力 与 用 户 关 注 度 都 在 持 续 攀 升 ， 这 也 为 我 们 的 商 业 化 奠 定 了 坚 实 的 基 础 。 接 下 来 ， 我 将 与 大 家 分 享 各 主 要 业 务 的 商 业 化 进 展 。
Speaker 7
Powered by these efforts and achievements. As of the end of the third quarter, the number of our followers grew by 18.6% year-over-year to 26.7 million. We have also noted consistent improvements in our brand influence and user attention, which has laid a solid foundation for our commercialization initiatives. Let's now turn to the commercialization progress of our main businesses.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language] 首 先 是 我 们 的 广 告 收 入 同 比 增 长 百 分 之 二 十 ， 充 分 验 证 了 我 们 品 效 合 一 的 广 告 业 务 受 到 品 牌 主 的 认 可 。 在 我 们 的 持 续 服 务 创 新 之 下 ， 结 合 相 关 营 销 计 划 ， 本 季 度 客 户 数 同 比 增 长 百 分 之 二 十 ， 客 单 价 基 本 维 持 去 年 同 期 水 平 。
Speaker 7
First, our advertising revenue increased by 20% year-over-year, powerful evidence of brands' appreciation of our effective brand marketing. Thanks to our continuous service innovations, coupled with our CSR program Seeking the Light, the number of our customers rose by 20% year-over-year, while ARPU held steady at last year's level in the third quarter.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language]我 们 在 服 务 以 Z 用 户 为 核 心 目 标 客 群 的 品 牌 方 上 ， 持 续 进 行 内 容 与 形 式 的 创 新 。 短 视 频 方 面 ， 为 五 菱 混 动 制 作 的 商 业 视 频 是 由 酷 杰真 相 视 频 角 度 新 颖 ， 成 为 上 半 年 中 播 放 量 最 高 的 视 频 。 其 实 自 媒 体 后 浪 研 究 所 品 牌 力 持 续 爆 发 ， 打 通 图 文 和 直 播 等 不 同 渠 道 内 容 形 式 ， 以 满 足 客 户 的 多 样 化 需 求 。 商 业 化 上 ， 多 家 知 名 企 业 在 本 季 度 进 行 了 复 购 ， 包 括 爱 奇 艺 、 华 为 、 京 东 、 知 乎 等 品 牌 ， 同 时 也 与 本 命 仙 物 ， 呃 ，CVR 等 新 兴 品 牌 达 成 合 作 。
Speaker 7
We continue to create new advertising content and formats for brands targeting sea and consumers. For example, we made a commercial video for Wuling hybrid electric vehicle entitled The Truth About Oil Resource Depletion. Featuring our fresh perspective, this pioneering short video won raves from the customer. Our vertical sub media outlets, OU, also continue to gain brand influence, boosting its commercialization potential. By collecting content formats from various channels including text, graphics and live streaming, OU has fulfilled the varied needs of our diverse customer base. As for commercialization, multiple well-known companies including iQIYI, Huawei, Jingdong and Zhihu became repeat customers in the third quarter, and we established new collaborations with Vanaways, SnapVR and other new economy brands.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language] 服 务 新 兴 行 业 是 三 十 六 氪 的 优 势 所 在 。 但 与 此 同 时 ， 我 们 也 在 与 传 统 行 业 的 客 户 ， 呃 ， 也 在 不 断 地 创 新 和 突 破 。 本 季 度 ， 我 们 与 特 步 达 成 深 度 合 作 ， 助 力 特 步 实 现 世 界 级 中 国 跑 鞋 的 战 略 目 标 ， 及 新 品 发 布 。 本 次 合 作 是 三 十 六 氪 第 一 次 在 赋 能 传 统 消 费 品 ， 嗯 ， 时 采 取 深 度 内 容 、 产 品 视 频 及 发 布 会 三 种 形 ， 服 务 相 结 合 的 形 式 。 相 信 随 着 我 们 的 逐 步 对 服 务 体 系 进 行 打 磨 和 创 新 ， 未 来 我 们 将 会 服 务 和 赋 能 更 多 的 传 统 品 牌 。
Speaker 7
Although serving the new economy sector is a key differentiator and advantage for 36Kr, we also continue to innovate and enhance our services for traditional industry customers. For instance, we established in-depth collaboration with Xtep to operate their brand strategy in preparation for their new product launch. By skillfully integrating product testing of similar products with our detailed, informative, industry-specific content, we help accept cement their strategy for becoming a world-class Chinese running shoe brand. This collaboration more than in-depth industry content, product videos and a product launch was a first for 36Kr and represents a potent new tool in our arsenal for empowering traditional consumer brands. We are confident that as we continue to refine and enhance our services, we will attract more traditional brands seeking an influential and creative partners in their marketing strategy.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language] 除 此 之 外 ， 我 们 近 期 与 知 名 的 北 美 领 先 汽 车 媒 体 Future Car 在 内 容 营 销 和 产 业 链 传 播 上 达 成 全 面 授 权 合 作 ， 联 手 深 挖 全 球 新 能 源 汽 车 产 业 的 发 展 机 遇 。 另 外 ， 这 也 是 三 十 六 氪 进 一 步 拓 宽 全 球 商 业 版 图 的 新 举 措 ， 欲 做 北 美 市 场 ， 打 造 媒 体 网 络 和 商 业 化 前 景 。
Speaker 7
In addition, we recently entered into a strategy cooperation with FutureCar, a leading North American media platform focusing on the automotive industry. Through authorized content sharing and mutual commercialization support, the two parties will jointly tap into opportunities in the global new energy vehicle sector. In addition, this marks an important expansion of 36Kr's global business footprint, building our media network and our commercialization prospects in the North American market.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language] 二 级 市 场 方 面 ， 本 季 度 我 们 与 国 泰 君 安 证 券 达 成 内 容 合 作 ， 通 过 投 资 派 等 栏 目 围 绕 地 产 行 业 进 行 当 前 现 状 的 梳 理 ， 以 及 未 来 投 资 趋 势 预 判 的 专 业 分 享 。 同 时 ， 我 们 与 新 希 望 、 智 云 健 康 、 柠 檬 影 视 以 及 电 视 科 技 等 知 名 公 司 在 市 值 管 理 与 品 牌 管 理 上 建 立 了 合 作 关 系 。 除 了 三 十 六 氪 自 有 二 级 市 场 业 务 外 ， 本 季 度 我 们 与 美 国 知 名 财 经 媒 体 Capital Watch 建 立 合 资 公 司 ， 未 来 将 会 重 点 围 绕 港 股 上 市 公 司 提 供 市 值 管 理 相 关 服 务 。
Speaker 7
Regarding our secondary market products, we team up with Guotai Junan Securities during the quarter to share our insights into the real estate industry current situation and future investment trends through the 36Kr Capital Pie Program. Meanwhile, we established partnership with renowned companies such as New Hope Group, Lap Direct, Linmon Media and G-M-E-R to provide empowerment services in market value management and brand management. Also apart from 36Kr cell phone secondary market business, we set up a joint venture in the third quarter with the well-known U.S. financial media company Capital Watch. Going forward, the JV will focus on offering market value management services for Hong Kong listed companies.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language] 在 企 业 增 值 服 务 方 面 ， 本 季 度 我 们 继 续 以 线 上 与 线 下 相 结 合 的 方 式 提 供 优 质 服 务 ， 有 效 缓 解 了 疫 情 的 影 响 。 我 们 与 更 多 的 企 业 以 及 政 府 客 户 达 成 合 作 ， 收 入 同 比 增 长 百 分 之 四 点 七 ， 客 户 数 同 比 增 长 百 分 之 二 十 六 。
Speaker 7
Turning to value added enterprise services. In this quarter, we continue to provide high quality services for clients by integrating online and offline formats to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on their business. As a result, we've established cooperation with more enterprises and government clients, increasing our number of customers by 26%. Total revenue from this segment also increased by 4.7% year-over-year.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language]今 年 九 月 ， 我 们 举 行 了 众 报 IP 论 坛 ， 置 身 市 内 二 零 二 二 中 国 基 金 合 伙 人 峰 会 ， 通 过 海 量 的 初 创 企 业 与 投 资 机 构 ， 我 们 看 到 了 各 赛 道 的 现 状 与 未 来 。 三 十 六 氪 从 产 业 、 政 策 、 市 场 等 多 维 角 度 解 构 人 民 币 基 金 发 展 的 关 键 ， 助 力 本 土 基 金 实 现 认 知 突 破 ， 适 应 变 化 ， 在 新 经 济 时 代 下 抢 占 先 机 。 另 外 ， 上 周 刚 刚 落 幕 的 以 守 望 中 国 保 持 创 新 为 主 题 的 二 零 二 二 外 资 新 经 济 之 王 大 会 圆 满 收 官 。 依 靠 三 十 六 氪 的 品 牌 影 响 力 ， 我 们 邀 请 到 知 名 企 业 家 王 石 、 经 济 学 家 管 清 友 、 创 业 者 及 香 港 交 易 所 前 行 政 总 裁 李 小 加 等 众 ， 多 位 众 望 嘉 宾 ， 针 对 当 下 热 门 赛 道 开 展 更 深 度 讨 论 ， 传 播 总 曝 光 量 超 过 四 十 五 亿 。
Speaker 7
One notable success was the heavyweight IT forum we hosted in September leading 2022 China Founder Partners Summit. Through our communications with a massive number of startups and investment institutions, we have developed a deep understanding of both the current situation and future outlook of a broad swath of industries. We capitalized on this advantage to analyze the key factors impacting the development of R&D funds from industry, policy and market perspectives, helping local firms gain deeper insights, adapt to changes, and capture opportunities in the new investment era. In addition, we concluded our WISE New Economy Kings conference last week with Long China Long Innovation as this year's theme.
We invited eminent new economy professionals, including Entrepreneur Wang Shi, Economists Guan Qingyou and Charles Li Xiaojia, Entrepreneur and former Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, to conduct in-depth discussions of trending industries at the event, which attract total exposure exceeding 4.5 billion across online audience.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language]除 了 线 下 活 动 之 外 ， 我 们 的 咨 询 等 企 业 增 值 服 务 也 在 本 季 度 持 续 发 力 。 三 十 六 氪 研 究 院 继 续 深 化 行 业 洞 察 能 力 ， 通 过 行 业 研 究 报 告 持 续 提 升 口 碑 。 在 商 业 化 上 ， 与 北 京 、 成 都 、 深 圳 、 杭 州 、 重 庆 等 多 地 政 府 机 关 以 及 联 想 、 百 度 、 直 接 跳 动 、 保 洁 等 多 家 知 名 企 业 达 成 咨 询 服 务 的 合 作 。 此 外 ， 在 企 业 代 运 营 方 面 ， 我 们 通 过 探 索 客 户 应 用 端 内 容 的 服 务 模 块 化 产 品 化 路 径 ， 提 升 服 务 效 率 与 服 务 质 量 。 在 2022 年 的 华 为 开 发 者 大 会 上 ， 三 十 六 氪 因 为 给 华 为 浏 览 器 提 供 代 运 营 服 务 而 获 得 优 秀 内 容 科 技 内 容 伙 伴 奖 。 同 时 ， 三 十 六 氪 还 与 浦 发 银 行 、 平 安 普 惠 、 华 泰 证 券 等 多 家 知 名 金 融 机 构 及 企 业 达 成 合 作 ， 并 收 获 好 评 。
Speaker 7
Aside from offline activities, we continue to make strides with our consulting services and value-added enterprise services in the third quarter. For our consulting services, our 36Kr Research Institute continued to deepen its industry insights and publish compelling industry research reports, enhancing its brand influence. During the quarter, we expanded our customer base with additional government agency customers in Beijing, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Chongqing, as well as renowned enterprises including Lenovo, Baidu, ByteDance and P&G, elevating this business commercialization. As for our content operation agency services, we continue to explore content services, monetization, standardization of our app to enhance our service efficiency and quality. At the Huawei Developer Conference 2022, 36Kr was granted the Excellent Technology Content Partner Award for providing agency operation services for Huawei's browsers.
In addition, we attract new partners and establish collaborations with various eminent financial institutions and enterprises, including Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Ping An Puhui, and Huatai Securities. Thanks to our high popularity and unrivaled word of mouth effect.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language]与 此 同 时 ， 我 们 的 区 域 拓 展 业 务 也 持 续 取 得 进 展 。 我 们 以 北 京 、 深 圳 为 双 总 部 ， 环 绕 广 东 、 四 川 、 重 庆 、 江 苏 、 浙 江 、 湖 北 、 陕 西 等 十 二 个 核 心 区 域 ， 拓 展 地 方 性 业 务 。 本 季 度 区 域 客 户 多 线 发 展 ， 企 业 端 客 户 营 收 规 模 快 速 增 长 ， 实 现 客 单 价 同 比 提 升 百 分 之 五 十 以 上 ， 签 约 金 额 同 比 提 升 百 分 之 六 十 以 上 。 政 企 客 户 占 比 已 经 逐 步 向 更 均 匀 的 态 势 发 展 ， 这 也 证 明 了 我 们 的 区 域 下 沉 战 略 已 经 开 始 发 挥 成 效 。 特 别 是 江 苏 站 本 季 度 首 次 承 办 Y 系 列 活 动 ， 成 为 站 点 垂 直 类 峰 会 ， 影 响 与 打 造 与 区 域 内 商 业 化 深 度 探 索 的 先 行 标 杆 。
Speaker 7
At the same time, we continue to make progress in our regional business expansion. With our two headquarters in Beijing and Shenzhen, we focus on expanding our presence to our 12 regional offices in Guangzhou, Sichuan, Chongqing, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei, and Shaanxi. Alongside growing regional customer diversity, revenues from enterprise clients is also increasing rapidly, with ARPU rising by more than 50% and contract adds by over 60% year-over-year. Adding local enterprises to our client roster has improved the balance of our government and enterprises clients, clearly reflecting the effectiveness of our lower tier market expansion strategy. Notably, our regional office in Jiangsu organized its fourth large event during the quarter, establishing a benchmark as we build the regional influence of our vertical summits and explore regional commercialization opportunities.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language]订 阅 服 务 在 保 持 既 有 传 统 课 程 的 交 付 之 外 ， 我 们 也 在 课 程 设 计 及 服 务 客 户 类 型 上 进 行 了 更 多 的 升 级 与 拓 展 。 除 了 继 续 升 级 融 资 加 速 营 等 传 统 课 程 服 务 外 ， 也 与 包 括 微 软 大 中 华 地 区 、 Manulife 等 知 名 公 司 达 成 了 企 业 内 部 培 训 的 衍 生 业 务 。 相 信 随 着 课 程 体 系 的 逐 - 逐 步 完 善 ， 未 来 将 会 为 我 们 带 来 更 大 的 商 业 化 空 间 。
Speaker 7
With respect to our subscription services, on top of our existing traditional courses, we upgraded our curriculum and expanded our customer base. During the third quarter, we upgraded funding acceleration camp and partnered with well-known companies including Microsoft China and Manulife to provide internal training. As we build out a complete curriculum, subscription service will bring us more commercialization opportunities going forward.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language]接 下 来 我 想 与 大 家 分 享 一 下 36Kr 企服点评 platform 的 最 新 进 展 。 数 字 经 济 已 经 成 为 我 国 经 济 发 展 的 重 要 推 动 力 。 根 据 Northeast Securities Co., Ltd. 数 据 显 示 ， 目 前 数 字 经 济 占 我 国 GDP 比 重 已 经 达 到 40% ， 正 在 稳 步 提 升 。 作 为 我 们 寻 找 突 破 和 增 长 点 的 second 个 增 长 曲 线 ， 企服点评 致 力 于 赋 能 SaaS 行 业 繁 荣 发 展 。 本 季 度 在 运 营 数 据 、 功 能 完 善 及 获 客 渠 道 创 新 以 及 商 业 化 方 进 展 方 面 均 取 得 了 优 异 的 成 绩 。
Speaker 7
Next, I'd like to share our latest accomplishments with respect to our enterprise service review platform. According to Northeast Securities data, the digital economy has become a key driver of China's economic development, accounting for 40% of China's GDP and rising. Representing our second growth engine and a commercialization breakthrough, the enterprise service review platform is dedicated to empowering the thriving SaaS industry. In the third quarter, our enterprise service review platform reported exceptional performance across multiple operating metrics, as well as great progress in functionality improvement, user acquisition, innovation, and commercialization. First, the enterprise service review platform maintained rapid growth in its operating data, with monthly active user rising more than 12-fold year-over-year to exceed one million. The number of authentic user reviews also surged, growing by almost ten-fold year-over-year and 54% quarter-over-quarter to exceed 50,000.
We showcased over 7,300 pieces of mainstream software on the platform this quarter, up 59% year-over-year. The number of merchants on our platform is now approaching 1,000, up 328% year-over-year. Regarding product functionality improvements based on the underlying data of software products, we built a labeling system for software evaluation, allowing users to write reviews by choosing appropriate labels, which improve review efficiency and effectiveness. In the meantime, we upgraded the risk control system for review verification to increase review authenticity and reliability. We also elevated buyers' experience by enabling profile self-preview on the H5 page of our app. Finally, we revamped our business portal in the Baidu Mini Program, leading to peak daily unique visitors of over 5,000 just two months after its launch.
As for our innovations in customer acquisition, in addition to continuous optimizations of our consumer product system and grant promotions in various regions, we launched an exclusive salon Enterprise Service Tea Party on the Enterprise Service Review Platform. We invited experts from leading enterprises across popular industries with an interest in digitalization, such as catering and new consumption, to explore industry solutions in real industry scenarios. This advanced deepen participants understanding of digital transformation from a practical point of view. Additionally, we strengthened the content capabilities on our Enterprise Service Review Platform in the third quarter by combining professionally generated content and Enterprise Service Review Platform products with a user-centric approach. We unlocked the unique value of IP content in guiding industry trends and forging connections among professionals.
Notably, through our Dual Growth Dialogue program and Digital Growth Program, we focus on real business cases and authentic user reviews to elevate the user experience and commercial value of enterprise products from users' perspective. Lastly, we also made significant strides in the commercialization of our enterprise service review platform. To date, our enterprise service review platform has received orders with a combined value of over RMB 10 million. It has also established strategic cooperation with Lenovo, a Fortune Global 500 company, to provide in-depth marketing services to Lenovo's SMB unit. Specifically leveraging the data we have accumulated via the enterprise service review platform, we deliver valid Qualify leads and assist Lenovo's SMB unit in process customer acquisition.
Meanwhile, by jointly developing a program for specialized, sophisticated, differentiated, and innovative companies to acquire massive traffic from small and medium-sized enterprises, we have equipped Lenovo with a powerful new tool to enhance their brand influence. This collaboration marks an important milestone in the commercialization path of our Enterprise Service Review Platform and a benchmark for future cooperation with more renowned companies. We have established other benchmark cases through brand promotion of well-known SaaS vendors such as Hotpay, Huilin Technology, and Datais.com, building a flywheel for the Enterprise Service Review Platform through IP growth. Looking back at the third quarter, despite the COVID-19 resurgences and macroeconomic challenges that still weigh on everyone in the industry, we remain focused on optimizing our content ecosystem, service system, and operations, while also driving our commercialization.
These efforts contributed to our encouraging financial performance in the third quarter, highlighted by our double-digit revenue growth year-over-year and the profit for the fourth consecutive quarter. In addition, we continue to break new ground with our second growth engine, the enterprise service review platform, and delivered rapid improving operating metrics and daily commercialization results. Looking ahead, we will continue to hone our unique competitive advantage to maintain our business vitality and resilience. Riding the wave of industry upgrades and digital transformation, we will unlock greater commercialization potential and explore new growth avenue in the new economy sector to create more value for users, shareholders, and investors. With that, I will now turn the call over to our CFO, Wei Lin, who will discuss our key financial results. Please go ahead, Lin.
Lin Wei (CFO)
Thank you, Feng, and hello, everyone. Despite the lingering challenges in the external environment, we are very pleased to have extended our strong growth momentum into the third quarter with another quarter of double-digit top-line growth, alongside 11.5% year-over-year increase in total revenues. Notably, our advertising businesses continued to grow, increasing 20% year-over-year, while our enterprise value-added services also recorded solid growth of 5% year-over-year. In addition, thanks to our consistent and effective efforts to optimize our cost structure and operating efficiency, our gross profit margin and operating margin both improved year-over-year in the third quarter of 2022, and we delivered a fourth consecutive quarter of profitability. Our resilient, diversified portfolio of products and businesses, bolstered by our content capabilities and multidimensional ecosystem, aptly positions us to achieve sustainable growth and generate long-term shareholder value as we move forward.
Now I'd like to walk you through more details of our third quarter 2022 financial results. Total revenues were RMB 94.6 million in the third quarter of 2022, an increase of 11.5% compared to RMB 84.9 million in the same period of last year. Online advertising services revenues increased by 20% year-over-year to RMB 63.9 million in the third quarter of 2022. The increase was primarily attributable to more innovative marketing solutions we provided to our customers, as well as proactive sales strategies we adopted to navigate the challenging environment during the quarter. Enterprise value-added services revenues increased by 5% year-over-year to RMB 23.6 million in the third quarter of 2022, as we continuously and proactively developed various new enterprise-level services for our customers.
Subscription services revenues were RMB 7.1 million in the third quarter of 2022, compared to RMB 9 million in the same period of last year. The decrease was primarily because some of our offline training programs were canceled or delayed due to the resurgence of COVID-19. Cost of revenues were RMB 35.5 million in the third quarter of 2022, compared to RMB 37.3 million in the same period of last year. Gross profits increased by 24% year-over-year to RMB 59.1 million in the third quarter of 2022, compared to RMB 47.6 million in the same period of last year. Gross profit margin was 62% in the third quarter of 2022, compared to 56% in the same period of last year.
Operating expenses were RMB 62.1 million in the third quarter of 2022, a decrease of 23% compared to RMB 80.3 million in the same period of last year. Sales and marketing expenses were RMB 32.2 million in the third quarter of 2022, a decrease of 9% from RMB 35.5 million in the same period of last year. Decrease was primarily attributable to the decrease in share-based compensation expenses and marketing expenses. G&A expenses were RMB 15.6 million in the third quarter of 2022, compared to RMB 30.9 million in the same period of last year. The decrease was primarily attributable to the decrease in allowance for credit losses.
Research and development expenses were RMB 13.4 million in the third quarter of 2022, compared to RMB 13.9 million in the same period of last year. Share-based compensation expenses recognized in cost of revenues, sales and marketing expenses, research and development expenses, as well as G&A expenses totaled RMB 2.6 million in the third quarter of 2022, compared to RMB 4.9 million in the same period of last year. Other income was RMB 5.7 million in the third quarter of 2022, compared to RMB 1.5 million in the same period of last year. The fluctuation was primarily attributable to income generated from write-offs of accounts payable in the third quarter of 2022 after the company fulfilled all applicable notifications and other risk eliminated with buyers.
Net income was RMB 2.5 million in the third quarter of 2022, compared to net loss of RMB 31.3 million in the same period of last year. Non-GAAP adjusted net income was RMB 5.1 million in the third quarter of 2022, compared to non-GAAP adjusted net loss of RMB 26.4 million in the same period of last year. Non-GAAP net income attributable to 36Kr's ordinary shareholders was RMB 1.7 million in the third quarter of 2022, compared to net loss of RMB 30.5 million in the same period of last year.
Basic and diluted net income per share and per ADS were RMB 0.042 in the third quarter of 2022, compared to basic and diluted net loss per ADS of RMB 0.744 in the same period of last year. As of September 30th, 2022, the company had cash equivalents and short-term investments of RMB 164 million, compared to RMB 194.3 million as of June 30th, 2022. The decrease was mainly attributable to net cash outflow from operating activities, as well as certain long-term investments in several new economy startup companies were made in the third quarter of 2022. This concludes all of our prepared remarks today. We will now open the call to questions. Operator, please go ahead.
Operator (participant)
Thank you. If you wish to ask a question via the phone, you will need to press the star key followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. For the benefit of all participants on today's call, if you wish to ask your question to management in Chinese, please immediately repeat your question in English. To withdraw your question from the question queue, please press star then two. Once again, that was star then one to ask a question. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble the roster. Our first question will come from Peipei Qiu of Industrial Securities. Please go ahead.
Peipei Qiu (Analyst)
I will translate my question. We've learned from your financial report that the enterprise review platform, Qifu Dianping, develop rapidly across multiple operation metrics. Could you share with us more about your, like, monetization and timeline for this business in the coming years? More about the mid and long-term strategy for Qifu Dianping. Thank you.
Speaker 7
Since the beginning of this year, we have been trying to optimize our Enterprise Service Review Platforms, operations, and explore commercialization opportunities. Based on our operating data, our Enterprise Service Review Platforms primary metrics all improved rapidly year-over-year, including monthly active users, daily active users, the number of real reviews and the number of pieces of software showcased. On a year-over-year basis of Enterprise Service Review Platforms, MAU grew by over 12-fold to exceed one million. The number of real review increased by almost 10-fold year-over-year and 54% quarter-over-quarter to over 50,000.
We also showcased over 7,300 pieces of mainstream software, up 59% year-over-year, and the number of merchants on our Enterprise Service Review Platform approach 1,000, a year-over-year increase of 328%.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language]在 商 业 化 方 面 ， 我 们 第 三 季 度 与 联 想 达 成 合 作 ， 为 联 想 提 供 获 客 以 及 品 牌 管 理 。 与 联 想 合 作 ， 我 想 应 该 是 体 服 点 评 商 业 化 历 史 上 一 个 非 常 重 要 的 里 程 碑 。
Speaker 7
In terms of commercialization, we established cooperation with Lenovo in the third quarter to empower their customer acquisition and brand management, marking an important milestone in our Enterprise Service Review Platform commercialization part.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language]在 未 来 规 划 方 面 ， 我 们 会 依 托 于 现 在 的 平 台 数 据 以 及 沉 淀 ， 转 化 更 多 有 效 的 线 索 交 付 。 在 -- 我 们 预 计 在 下 一 个 的 季 度 会 推 出 一 个 重 要 的 功 能 ， 呃 ， 就 是 持 续 收 获 集 用 户 的 真 实 点 评 ， 结 合 产 品 的 基 础 数 据 和 专 家 意 见 ， 形 成 个 性 化 的 行 业 选 型 报 告 以 及 产 品 点 评 报 告 。 我 想 这 个 产 品 会 ， 呃 ， 大 幅 增 加 我 们 的 产 品 的 功 能 的 完 善 性 和 我 们 的 商 业 化 价 值 。 同 时 从 甲 方 视 角 出 发 ，持 续 收 获 行 业 级 方 案 及 行 业 案 例 库 ， 形 成 案 例 库 产 品 ， 以 产 品 功 能 、 文 章 、 直 播 、 沙 龙 等 多 种 形 式 不 断 触 达 我 们 的 决 策 者 ， 形 成 行 业 共 识 ， 帮 助 提 升 SaaS 产 品 的 选 型 效 率 。 商 业 化 方 - 方 面 ， 我 们 会 持 续 打 造 标 杆 案 例 ， 借 助 与 联 想 、 火 山 引 擎 等 知 名 头 部 公 司 的 合 作 ， 进 而 推 广 到 更 多 的 企 业 当 中 去 ， 形 成 标 准 的 商 业 化 模 式 ， 最 大 效 率 地 扩 充 商 业 化 规 模 。
Speaker 7
Regarding future plans, we will leverage the existing data our Enterprise Service Review Platform to convert more leads for delivery. For the next quarter, we will initiate a new product function. We will continue to collect users' real reviews and combine basic product data, expert opinion to issue personalized industry selection reports and product comments reports to help users make correct selection decisions. We think this will highly improve our service and also improve the value of the commercialization. At the same time, from the perspective of SaaS providers, we will continue to enrich our industry solutions and industry case base, develop case-based products, and reach out to decision makers by various means such as product functions, articles, live broadcast, salons. Thereby forming industry consensus and helping to improve the efficiency of SaaS product selection.
With respect to commercialization, we will continue to build benchmark cases and extend our collaboration models with leading well-known enterprises such as Lenovo and Volcano Engine to more enterprises, creating standardized commercialization models and expanding our commercialization scale with maximum efficiency.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language]最 后 是 宏 观 情 况 的 影 响 。 我 们 知 道 说 今 年 的 二 十 大 其 实 重 点 在 强 调 数 字 化 ， 那 疫 情 的 反 复 反 而 对 SaaS 公 司 的 发 展 带 来 一 定 的 助 力 ， 未 来 会 有 越 来 越 多 的 企 业 寻 找 数 字 化 的 转 型 。 所 以 如 果 说 我 们 在 今 年 2022 年 ， 呃 ， 最 大 的 是 企 业 功 能 -- 产 品 功 能 和 商 业 化 ， 呃 ， 以 产 品 功 能 的 完 善 为 主 的 话 ， 那 么 我 们 相 信 明 年 我 们 将 继 续 取 得 功 能 -- 呃 ， 取 得 更 好 的 功 能 以 及 更 大 规 模 的 商 业 化 。 我 们 相 信 仅 就 商 业 化 而 言 ，2023 年 的 商 业 化 将 比 2022 年 有 一 个 比 较 大 的 增 幅 。
Speaker 7
For the macroeconomic and economy prospects, the 20th CPC National Congress has also emphasized the importance of digitalization. Contrary to popular perception, COVID-19 flare-ups has actually facilitated the development of SaaS companies as more companies seek digital transformation. We expect that if we have more focus on the functionality of Enterprise Service Review Platform in 2022, and we will assume a very high growth comparable to the 2022 of the commercialization for the year of 2023. Okay, that's all for your question.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language]谢 谢 Wei Wei.
Speaker 7
Thank you.
Operator (participant)
The next question comes from Lingyi Zhao of SWS Research. Please go ahead.
Lingyi Zhao (Analyst)
[Foreign language]各位 领导 大家 好， 我 是 Lingyi Zhao， 感谢 您 接受 我 的 提问。 我 这边 有 两 个 问题， 第 一 个， 其实 我们 可以 看到 目前 国内 各个 地区 的 这个 疫情 政策 都 已经 在 放开 了。 我 想 请教， 就是 公司， 您 认为 公司 哪些 业务 线条 在 疫情 放开 后 的 增长 潜力 最 高？ 我们 对于 这个 进一步 的 放开， 未来 有 什么 样 的 预期 和 目标， 对于 我们 自己 的 业务？ 第 二 个 就是 我们 也 积极 地 关注 到 了 公司 的 这个 WISE Conference， 我们 近期 可否 请 管理层 分享 一下 近期 的 WISE Conference 我们 都 有 哪些 亮点？ 另外 的 话， 我们 对于 12 月 份， 尤其 是 明年 线 下 活动 节奏 有 哪些 调整？ 我 翻译 一下。
Congrats for the great results and thank you for taking my question. I'm Lingyi Zhao from SWS Research. My first question is how do we expect the growth potential after the relaxation of co-control measures?
How about expected goals? My second question is, could you please, comment share some outcomes on the recent WISE Conference and what adjustment have been prepared of offline activities, for December and next year? Thank you.
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language]好 的 ， 谢 谢 凌 漪 。
Speaker 7
Hi。
Dagang Feng (Co-chairman and CEO)
[Foreign language]我 先 回 答 你 的 第 一 个 问 题 。
Lin Wei (CFO)
Hi Lingyi Zhao. Hi Lingyi Zhao, thank you for your question. This is Lin Wei. I guess I will maybe answer your first question because it's regarding some financial guidance for next year. Dagang Feng will answer your second question.
Yeah. You mentioned that, the lifting of the pandemic control measures, yeah, that's a very good signal, a very good sign. Basically, I think all of our businesses will benefit across the board. In terms of timing, that will be some business will benefit earlier and some will be benefiting later. Namely advertising, I think that will be the number one business sector that will benefit from this because, you know, in business world, I think expectations or confidence matters the most. I think the lifting of the control measures will give the business world or enterprise side, very good expectation or confidence.
I don't think they will wait to see the growth to happen, in realistic, but only the sign of recovery will give them the confidence to starting to do marketing again and to do customer acquisition so they can, they can accelerate their growth. That's why I think in terms of advertising, that will be directly linked to the macroeconomy recovery. I think that's why advertising business will benefit first. Of course, advertising is in terms of this volume, that the number one contributor to so let's say, 36Kr's business. I think that's very good, a very good sign, and that's very important. Gradually, I think after... This measure just, I think announced in this week, so it's still very early to tell.
Gradually, I think after those measures, you know, were taken all over the country, I think our enterprise value-added services, which mainly comprise of offline events and some consulting businesses as well as our subscription business, which conducts a lot of, you know, offline training programs and offline courses, I think that will benefit also from this measure. That will happen a little bit later than the advertising business. Overall, all three major business will benefit. To quantify that benefit, I think in terms of advertising, that's the biggest volume that will. Let's say in the first three quarters of 2022 advertising growth, I think the growth rate is between 10%-20% if you look at its first three quarter results.
I think next year, as Mr. Feng just mentioned, I think next year advertising will outgrow 2022's performance, which means maybe higher, maybe to, you know, 15%-25% or even higher. For growth rate, I think enterprise value-added services, which includes [Foreign language]일부터 到 屏 platform, as well as our subscription business, which include a lot of training programs and courses, that will benefit in terms of growth rate. That growth rate will be greater. That will be even greater than the growth rate of advertising business. But in terms of volume, that will be smaller than advertising. That's overall the answer for your first question. I think now Mr. Feng will answer the second question. Thank you.
Speaker 7
After overcoming many challenges this year, we successfully hosted our 10th WISE Conference. We have prepared like plan B to plan C, plan D, plan F to prepare this conference. We adopted an integrated model for an offline format in Beijing and a offline format in Hangzhou, and we also invited up to 100 distinguished guests, including famous entrepreneur Wang Chuanfu, like, the famous investor Zhang Lei, and also economists and some of the government agencies for this conference. Our conference attracts exposure of over 4.5 billion across offline, online audiences and having collaboration with over 50 mainstream media.
From the commercialization perspective, although the primary parts of the conference will have virtually in Beijing and combined with the offline in Hangzhou, we have little impact on our revenue of the offline activities due to the impact of the COVID-19 resurgences. We are much more satisfied with the commercialization this year. In December the WISE Conference is our focus conference, and we will also have a few customized offline events, focusing on local clients' needs like enterprises and governments. Also we will have
Some of the events, they're all like a small size. Regarding the next year, as the COVID-19 restriction are lifted, we will increase the frequency of both of major industry summits and the customized events. We will have issued more our own IP events for the next year. As the reopen of the restriction, we will have more offline events, and also it will generated more revenue in 2023 over the 2022. Thank you.
Operator (participant)
The next question comes from Jing Chen of CICC. Please go ahead.
Jing Chen (Analyst)
I will translate myself. My question is about short video business. Can you give more color on the future plan for development and commercialization of short video? Thank you.
Speaker 7
Our short video business is a very important strategy for the end. We used to service more 2B customers, and so the short video will service more C-end customers, and it also help us to obtain more collaboration from C-end brands, but also directly brought us more attention from diversified user groups. From the perspective of brand influence, 36Kr short video business have generated frequent recognition from the industry in the past year. For example, 36Kr recently received two gold medals and one copper medal at the China Content Marketing Awards, is the one of the most re-recognized award in the industry.
CCMA highly praise 36Kr's excellence in original content production and content marketing capabilities. In addition, the number of our followers on Bilibili surpassed 1.5 million at the end of October. Many of our original videos have also amassed a high number of streams. Among them, our original content of topic released at the end of November has racked up more than four million reviews on Bilibili. The most important thing is that our rank in the institutional medium is so much high. Some of them are like government or the individual medium that was just beyond us. As for the institutional media, we are like the first one in the Bilibili.
In terms of commercialization, short video revenue in the third quarter accounting for about 15% of our total advertising revenue, an increase compared to the same period last year. The short video format not only effectively increased our average revenue per advertising customer, and it also enhanced the comprehensive of our service to a certain extent, enabling us to provide services to a broader array of advertisers. Thank you.
Operator (participant)
As there are no further questions, I'd like now to turn the conference back over to the company for closing remarks.
Yang Li (IR Manager)
Thank you once again for joining us today. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact 36Kr's investor relations with the contact information provided on our website.
Operator (participant)
This concludes this conference call. You may now disconnect your line. Thank you.