(Yicai) Nov. 20 -- Kuaishou Technology said Kling AI, the Chinese short-video platform's artificial intelligence tool for creating videos and images, will likely bring revenue of USD140 million this year, more than double the firm’s initial target of USD60 million.

Kuaishou will continue raising investment in AI-related computing power, Chief Financial Officer Jin Bing said during a third-quarter earnings conference call yesterday. Overall capital expenditure is expected to reach mid-to-high double-digit growth this year compared with last year, he added.

In its earnings report, Beijing-based Kuaishou said net profit surged 37 percent to CNY4.5 billion (USD633.1 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30 from a year earlier, while adjusted profit jumped 28 percent to CNY5 billion. Revenue rose 14 percent to CNY35.6 billion (USD5 billion).

After jumping by as much as 4.4 percent earlier today, Kuaishou’s shares [HKG: 1024] closed 2.3 percent higher at HKD64.60 (USD8.30) each in Hong Kong.

Kuaishou will focus on AI-powered film and television creation, founder and Chief Executive Officer Cheng Yixiao said when discussing the video-generation market, how Kling AI is positioned within it, and its competitive strategy. The firm will also focus its resources and strengthen its technology and product lineup, while upgrading its technical capabilities based on user insights, he said.

While maintaining strategic investments in AI, Kuaishou has improved its profitability, with AI tech continuously empowering its content and commercial ecosystems, according to the company.

Quarterly revenue from online marketing jumped 14 percent to CNY20.1 billion, while that from the live-streaming business climbed 2.5 percent to CNY9.6 billion. Other services income, mainly e-commerce and Kling AI, surged 41 percent to CNY5.9 billion, with the AI model contributing over CNY300 million (USD42.2 million).

Average daily active users reached 416 million, while monthly active users topped 731 million. E-commerce gross merchandise volume rose 15 percent to CNY385 billion (USD54.2 billion).

For the first nine months of this year, net profit rose 17 percent to CNY15.2 billion on a 13 percent jump in revenue to CNY103.2 billion.

Editor: Martin Kadiev