Huya Inc.’s (HUYA) shares gained 6.8% in premarket hours on Tuesday, continuing its rally from a day earlier when the company beat market estimates on revenue and earnings for the fourth quarter of 2018.
The game live streaming platform reported its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter on Monday, after the closing bell. Net revenues more than doubled year-over-year to RMB1,504.9 million ($218.9 million).
Live streaming revenues more than doubled to RMB1,441.8 million ($209.7 million) versus the prior-year period, fuelled by growth in the number of paying users and spending per paying user. Increased demand from gaming advertisers helped drive a 30.7% increase in advertising and other revenues during the quarter.
Reported net income jumped by 1,900% to RMB99.6 million ($14.5 million) while adjusted net income grew by 486.8% to RMB166.9 million ($24.3 million). Reported net income per American Depositary Share (ADS) was RMB0.45 ($0.07) while adjusted net income per ADS was RMB0.76 ($0.11).
The company saw a 34.5% growth in average monthly active users (MAUs), which reached 116.6 million in the quarter, driven by major Esports events broadcasted on Huya’s website and mobile apps. Average mobile MAUs rose 30.7%, with mobile users driving over 80% of Huya’s live streaming revenue. Total number of paying users increased 73.1%.
Huya plans to increase its partnerships with gaming companies going forward in order to improve visibility into the new game pipeline. The company believes its overseas presence will act as a core differentiator in the competitive game live streaming landscape.
For the first quarter of 2019, Huya expects net revenues to grow by 79-83.7% year-over-year to a range of RMB1,510 million to RMB1,550 million.
Huya’s shares have gained 58% thus far this year and 24% in the past one month.