BEIJING, Aug. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Glory Star New Media Group Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: GSMG) ("Glory Star", the "Company" or "we"), a leading digital media platform and content-driven e-commerce company in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the first half year of 2023 ended June 30, 2023.

First Half 2023 Operating Highlights

• Downloads of the CHEERS Apps increased to approximately 395 million as of June 30, 2023, representing an increase of 23% compared to approximately 320 million as of June 30, 2022.

CHEERS Video

• Monthly Active Users ("MAU") of the CHEERS Video app increased to approximately 49.8 million from 45.8 million in the same period of 2022, representing an increase of 9%.

• Daily Time Spent ("DTS") on CHEERS Video was approximately 51 minutes.

CHEERS e-Mall

• MAU of the CHEERS e-Mall app increased to approximately 4.6 million from 3.0 million in the same period of 2022, representing an increase of 53%.

• Repurchase Rate ("RPR") for CHEERS e-Mall was approximately 39%.

CheerReal

• MAU of the CheerReal app was approximately 1.2 million.

• Number of Digital Art Collections listed on CheerReal platform was 350 units.

First Half 2023 Key Operating Results

The Company monitors the following key metrics to evaluate the growth of its business, measure the effectiveness of its marketing efforts, identify trends affecting its business, and make strategic decisions.

Downloads. We view the number of downloads at the end of a given period as a key indicator of the attractiveness and usability of our CHEERS Apps. As of June 30, 2023, downloads of our CHEERS Video, e-Mall and CheerReal apps in total were approximately 395 million, representing an increase of 23% compared to approximately 320 million as of June 30, 2022.

MAU. MAU is defined as a user who has logged in or accessed the Company's CHEERS Apps. We calculate MAU using internal company data based on the activity of the user account and as adjusted to remove "duplicate" accounts. MAU is a tool that our management uses to manage their operations. In particular, our management sets targets of MAU and monitors the MAU to see whether to make adjustments as to the promotional activities, advertising campaign, and/or online video contents. For the six months ended June 30, 2023, the average MAU of our CHEERS Video and e-Mall apps were approximately 49.8 million and 4.6 million, growing 9% and 53% respectively as compared to the same period in 2022. The average MAU of the CheerReal app was approximately 1.2 million.

RPR. We track RPR to analyze the effectiveness of our marketing as well as customers retention, which is vital to our e-Mall. RPR is calculated as the percentage of our customers who have placed more than one order within a certain period of time. For the 180 days period during the first half of 2023, our CHEERS e-Mall RPR was approximately 39%.

DTS. We measure DTS as an additional metric to evaluate the attractiveness of our video content and stickiness of users. The average DTS using our CHEERS Video during first half 2023 was approximately 51 minutes.

First Half 2023 Financial Results

Revenues in the first half year of 2023 were US$67.4 million compared to US$69.9 million in the same period of 2022, representing a decrease of US$2.5 million, or 3.57% from US$69.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022.

Total operating expenses in the first half year of 2023 were US$58.7 million, compared to US$59.4 million in the same period of 2022.

• Cost of revenues were US$16.9 million and US$14.6 million for the first half year of 2023 and 2022. The increase in cost of revenues was primarily driven by the increase in production cost. The Company believes higher production cost would improve product contents with higher quality, which would in turn contribute to our reputation in the industry and attract more customers.

• Sales and marketing expenses were US$38.9 million and US$42.5 million for the first half year of 2023 and 2022, mainly due to a decrease in other miscellaneous expenses incurred by sales persons because the Company emphasized cost savings.

• General and administrative expenses in the first half year of 2023 increased by 24.9% to US$2.3 million from US$1.8 million in the same period of 2022, which is mainly attributable to an increase in salary and welfare expenses because of an increase in headcount in our administrative department.

• Research and development expenses were US$0.6 million and US$0.5 million for the first half year of 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Income from operations in the first half year of 2023 was US$8.7 million, compared to US$10.5 million in the same period of 2022.

Net income were US$8.8 million and US$10.6 million, respectively, for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022.

Basic and diluted earnings per share in the first half year of 2023 were US$0.12 and US$0.12, respectively, compared to US$0.16 and US$0.16, respectively, in the same period of 2022.

Net cash provided by operating activities in the first half year of 2023 was US$27.2 million, compared to net cash used in operating activities of US$30.6 million in the same period of 2022.

As of June 30, 2023, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of US$152.4 million, compared to US$70.5 million as of December 31, 2022.

About Glory Star

As a preeminent provider of next-generation mobile internet infrastructure services in China, Glory Star is dedicated to building a digital ecosystem that integrates "platforms, applications, technology, and industry" into a cohesive system, thereby creating a new, open business environment for web3.0 that leverages AI technology. The Company is developing a 5G+VR+AR+AI shared universe space that builds on cutting-edge technologies including blockchain, cloud computing, extended reality, and digital twin.

Glory Star's portfolio includes a wide range of products and services, such as Polaris Intelligent Cloud, CHEERS Telepathy, CHEERS Open Platform, CHEERS Video, CHEERS e-Mall, CheerReal, CheerCar, CheerChat, CHEERS Fresh Group-Buying E-commerce Platform, Digital Innovation Research Institute, CHEERS Livestreaming, variety show series, IP short video matrix, and more. These offerings provide diverse application scenarios that seamlessly blend "online/offline" and "virtual/reality" elements.

With "CHEERS+" at the core of Glory Star's ecosystem, the Company is committed to consolidating and strengthening its core competitiveness, and achieving long-term sustainable and scalable growth.