(Yicai) Aug. 25 -- China's Weibo recorded a double-digit boost in net profit in the second quarter as an increasing number of users got online to engage with entertaining content on the microblogging platform.

In the three months ended June, net profit rose by 15 percent to USD126.4 million based on non-generally accepted accounting principles, and the addition would be even higher if exchange rate factors were adjusted, the Beijing-headquartered firm said in its latest earnings report released yesterday.

However, revenue dropped by 2 percent to USD440.2 million, partly caused by exchange rate fluctuations. Analysts had expected the sum to be higher at USD438.8 million.

The platform had 599 million monthly active users as of June 30, an addition of 17 million from a year ago. The number of daily active users reached 258 million, up by five million. Almost all the MAUs were using the mobile application.

Most of Weibo's revenue came from advertising and marketing services, making up almost 90 percent of the total, even though the sum did not increase in the first half. Income from value-added services declined by 16 percent to USD54.6 million due to less profitable services and the base effects of last year's singular technical fees.

Users were keen to watch content in Weibo's strong areas of entertainment and hot trends and the firm increased its investment in key verticals, it said.

Weibo will keep supporting and monetizing verticals with earning potential in the second half. In July and August, viewership surged to a record high, exceeding an earlier peak observed during the pandemic. "But we still hope to recover viewership in vertical areas such as cars and games to increase the share of advertising in these industries," Chief Executive Wang Gaofei said.

During the three-year Covid-19 pandemic, consumer demand in beauty, fashion, tourism, and other fields dropped significantly, Wang said, adding that this is why the firm shifted its focus to these fields in the first half to recover viewership. "Only then can we extend our influence and succeed in commercialization."

Wang said he is satisfied with the recovery and operational efficiency. Fashion and luxury have maintained growth but beauty and tourism have not yet recovered. The consumption of beauty products is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by the fourth quarter or the first quarter of 2024 at the latest.

Editor: Emmi Laine