Sohu.com Earned $193M in Q1 2022

Sohu.com Limited, a Chinese internet company, released its financial report for the first quarter of 2022 on Monday. The report reveals that its total revenue in Q1 was $193 million, and its net profit (Non-GAAP) was $9 million, exceeding expectations. Specifically, brand advertising revenue was $24 million, and online game revenue was $158 million.

Online game revenue in Q1 was $158 million, down 11% from Q1 in 2021 and up 10% from Q4, 2021. The year-on-year decline was mainly due to the natural decline of the Dragon Oath PC game. The month-on-month growth was mainly due to content updates and promotional activities launched in Q1, which increased the revenue of Dragon Oath.

As for user data, in terms of PC games, the total average monthly active users were 2 million, down 13% from Q1, 2021 and down 1% from Q4 2021. The year-on-year decline was mainly due to the natural attenuation of existing games. The total number of active paid users in Q1 was 1 million, up by 4% compared with Q1, 2021 and 4% from Q4, 2021.

In terms of mobile games, the total average monthly active users were 2.4 million, up by 16% from Q1, 2021 and down by 6% from Q4, 2021. The year-on-year growth was driven by female-oriented game Cuican Xingtu launched in Q1 and Xiaohuanxiong Baijiangzhuan launched in Q3 2021. The month-on-month decrease was mainly due to the natural decline of existing games. The total number of active paid users in Q1 was 500,000, an increase of 14% over Q1, 2021 and up 6% over Q4, 2021. Annual and monthly growth was mainly driven by Cuican Xingtu.

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Charles Zhang, the founder, chairman and CEO of Sohu.com, said: “In Q1 2022, despite the negative impact of COVID-19 and the challenge of the macroeconomic environment, we still focus on optimizing products and improving operational efficiency. Thanks to the outstanding performance of the online game business, Sohu Group’s profits exceeded the previous guiding expectations and achieved profitability.”

For Q2, 2022, Sohu.com expects its brand advertising revenue to register between $22 million and $25 million, down 32% to 40% compared with Q2, 2021, and down 7% to 5% compared with Q1 of 2022.

Online game revenue is expected to reach $150 million and $160 million, down 1% to 6% compared with Q2, 2021 and down 5% to 1% compared with Q1 of 2022.