HONG KONG, March 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 20th, Newborn Town unveiled its annual results for the year ended December 31st, 2024. Benefiting from the AI empowerment of social and entertainment products, the company experienced remarkable growth in both revenue and profit. According to the announcement, Newborn Town reported a total revenue of RMB 5,092 million in 2024, marking a 53.9% year-over-year increase. Net profit for the year reached RMB 788 million, while adjusted EBITDA totaled at RMB 963 million, demonstrating a 42.8% year-over-year increase.
The company's social networking business reached revenue of RMB 4,632 million, marking a 58.1% growth year-over-year. TopTop and SUGO, the social products with second-mover advantages, witnessed substantial expansion particularly in the MENA region. Additionally, the innovative business, which included quality games and social e-commerce segment, also performed impressively, contributing RMB 460 million in revenue, a growth of 21.3% YoY.
Sustained Growth Achieved in Social Networking Business as MENA's Revenue Growth Rate Exceeds 60%
Newborn Town's strategy of developing a 'bush-like' portfolio of social apps has accelerated its growth in 2024, fueled by the company's product innovation, localized operation and growth, as well as the AI-powered commercialization efficiency gains. Among them, new products TopTop and SUGO have shown explosive growth, while established products like MICO and YoHo continue to deliver steady profits and cash flow.
In 2024, SUGO's total revenue surged by over 200% year-over-year, with average monthly recharge amount exceeding US$10 million. TopTop also delivered impressive results, with its UGC-driven community further thriving and total revenue increasing by more than 100%. These successes have diversified the company's revenue streams, making its core business more resilient and robust.
The MENA market remains a crucial growth driver and has continued to unlock significant business potential in 2024. According to the announcement, Newborn Town's core social apps revenue in this region increased by over 60% compared to the previous year, far outpacing the growth rate of 2023.
After over a decade of penetration in the MENA region, Newborn Town continues to break new ground and create incremental value. This not only underscores the vast commercial opportunities in the MENA market but also highlights the company's growing dominance as a leading social entertainment player, further establishing its strengths through strong localization strategies.
The MENA region has become a fertile ground for Newborn Town to cultivate blockbuster products. With multiple products leading their respective niches, Newborn Town is inching closer to its strategic goal of "deepening its presence in MENA".
In the second half of 2024, the company was granted the Regional Headquarters License by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Investment (MISA), becoming the first global social entertainment company to establish a regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia.
The Capabilities to Replicate Blockbuster Products Further Improved by AI Empowerment
For the first time in its results announcement, Newborn Town revealed details about its self-developed multimodal algorithm model, which has significantly boosted commercialization efficiency and fueled new products' explosive growth.
The Boomiix model has been instrumental in enhancing the capabilities of Newborn Town's proprietary AI engine, improving efficiency in user behavior analysis, preference identification, and value measurement. The upgraded algorithm has optimized social matching and content recommendation, leading to better user experiences and higher commercialization efficiency.
SUGO's success has exemplified AI-driven efficiency gains. By leveraging Boomiix, the social platform has seen improved matching efficiency and smarter operational decision-making progress. By the end of 2024, SUGO experienced a more than 20% increase in ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) compared to the beginning of the year, marking a significant optimization in its monetization strategies.
With AI integration deepening across R&D, operations, marketing, and advertising, Newborn Town has successfully accelerated its ability to replicate blockbuster products. SUGO, the social app launched just over three years ago, has already surpassed US$10 million in monthly recharge amount, reinforcing AI's role in the company's expansion strategy.
In recent years, by continuously addressing diverse user needs and driving product innovation, the company has built a thriving 'bush-like' portfolio of social apps, including MICO, YoHo, TopTop, SUGO and HeeSay. With the "product matrix + AI engine" model proving effective, Newborn Town is well-positioned to further leverage technology-driven growth and unlock greater commercial value.
Quality Games Began Driving Revenue Whilst Social E-commerce Unleashed Potential
In 2024, the company made significant strides in its innovative business segments, particularly in quality games and social e-commerce.
The quality games sector saw steady growth. The company's self-developed quality games, published through external teams, have generated approximately RMB 705 million in recharge amount, marking about an 80.4% increase compared to 2023. The flagship title, Alice's Dream: Merge Games has performed exceptionally well. Notably, the quality games began contributing to the company's revenue in the fourth quarter of 2024, marking its entry into a profitable phase.
Meanwhile, the social e-commerce business experienced rapid growth, driven by the in-depth exploration of user needs, an expanded product portfolio, and a broader user base. Its revenue increased by over 200% year-over-year, with profits surging by more than 600%, solidifying the company's leadership in this vertical market.
Newborn Town has demonstrated its firm confidence in future growth through concrete actions. In 2024, the company repurchased shares worth over HKD 150 million and has planned to continue repurchasing in the following years.
Looking ahead, Newborn Town is committed to implementing its strategy for cultivating the application 'bush' worldwide, strengthening AI integration and leveraging its diverse product lineup to capture new niches within the global social entertainment market, tapping into the broader commercial space in the "emotional value" consumption field.
