Yalla Group Q3 2024 Earnings Report

Yalla Group EPS Results

• Actual EPS: $0.22
• Consensus EPS: N/A
• Beat/Miss: N/A
• One Year Ago EPS: N/A

Yalla Group Revenue Results

• Actual Revenue: $88.92 million
• Expected Revenue: N/A
• Beat/Miss: N/A
• YoY Revenue Growth: N/A

Yalla Group Announcement Details

• Quarter: Q3 2024
• Date: 11/11/2024
• Time: After Market Closes
• Conference Call Date: Monday, November 11, 2024
• Conference Call Time: 8:00PM ET

Yalla Group (NYSE:YALA) Limited is a technology company that operates social networking and entertainment platforms serving users primarily in the Middle East and North Africa. The company is headquartered in the United Arab Emirates and focuses on digital products designed to support online communication, social interaction and casual gaming.

Its flagship application, Yalla, is a voice-centered social networking platform that provides virtual chat rooms and community features. The company also operates Yalla Ludo, a mobile gaming application based on traditional board games, including ludo and dominoes, with social and multiplayer functionality. Yalla Group has expanded its product portfolio with additional communication and entertainment services for regional users.

Yalla Group was founded in 2016 and became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2020. The company is led by founder, chairman and chief executive officer Yang Tao. Its platforms are primarily tailored to Arabic-speaking and other users across the Middle East and North Africa, while also reaching users in other international markets.

Yalla Group Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

• Yalla delivered record Q3 revenues of USD 88.9 million, a 4.4% year-over-year increase and 8% above the upper end of its guidance.
• Profitability improved with net income of USD 39.2 million, up 11.2% year-over-year, and an expanded net margin of 44.1% (non-GAAP 47.9%).
• Average monthly active users reached 40.2 million (+14.5% YoY) and paying users grew to 12.6 million (+12% YoY), driven by enhanced product features and localized events.
• Game services now account for over 30% of revenue, and Yalla has three self-developed mid-core and hardcore titles entering testing in Q4, targeting scalable launches in 2025.
• Q4 2024 revenue is guided to USD 77 million–84 million, suggesting a sequential decline from Q3 levels amid current market conditions.

Presentation

[Operator]

Good morning and good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by for Yalla Group Limited third quarter 2024 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. After management's prepared remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. Today's conference call is being recorded. Now, I will turn the call over to your speaker host today, Ms. Kerry Gao, IR Director of the company. Please go ahead.

[Kerry Gao, Director of Investor Relations at Yalla Group Limited]

Hello, everyone, and Welcome to Yalla's third quarter 2024 earnings conference call. We released our earnings press release earlier today, and the release is now available on our IR website as well as on newswire outlets. Before we continue, please note that the discussion today will contain forward-looking statements made under the safe harbor provision of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. As such, our future results may be materially different from the views expressed today. Further information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties is included in our earnings release and our annual report filed with the SEC. Yalla does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by law.

[Kerry Gao, Director of Investor Relations at Yalla Group Limited]

Please also note that Yalla's earnings press release and this conference call include a discussion of unaudited GAAP financial information as well as unaudited non-GAAP financial measures. Yalla's press release contains a reconciliation of the unaudited non-GAAP measures to the unaudited most directly comparable GAAP measures. Today, we'll hear from Mr. Tao Yang, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, who will provide an overview of our latest achievements and growth strategies. He will be followed by Mr. Saifi Ismail, the company's president, who will briefly review our recent business developments. Mrs. Karen Hu, our Chief Financial Officer, will then provide additional details on the company's financial results and discuss our financial outlook. Following management's prepared remarks, we will open the call to questions. Mr. Jeff Xu, our Chief Operating Officer, will join the Q&A section.

[Kerry Gao, Director of Investor Relations at Yalla Group Limited]

With that said, I'd now like to turn the call over to our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tao Yang. Please go ahead, sir.

[Tao Yang, Chairman and CEO at Yalla Group Limited]

Thank you, everyone, for joining our third quarter 2024 earnings conference call. We are thrilled to report a robust quarter marked by record-high revenues and enhanced profitability. Our third quarter revenues reached $88.9 million, exceeding the upper end of our guidance by 8%, while our net income increased by 11.2% year-over-year to $39.2 million. Behind this impressive performance was our continuous commitment to deepening our localization capabilities, which enabled us to keep rolling out new gamification features and operating events that fulfill MENA users' social and entertainment needs. Driving quality revenue growth while improving operating efficiencies has been a key company objective this year. To that end, the team has consistently refined operational procedures and optimized user acquisition strategies over the past several quarters. Moving forward, we will remain focused on user experience and product excellence, enriching our product ecosystem and pursuing high-quality, sustainable development.

[Tao Yang, Chairman and CEO at Yalla Group Limited]

MENA's digital transformation has progressed rapidly this year, drawing a surge of global attention, talent, and investment to the region. We have seen gaming emerge as one of the critical drivers of this digital transformation. GCC countries are introducing supportive policies and initiatives to facilitate the development of the gaming and esports sectors. This summer, the esports World Cup puts Saudi Arabia in the global spotlight for gamers and industry professionals worldwide, with over 1,500 players worldwide competing across multiple games for a record-breaking $60 million prize. The event showcased key MENA countries' policy commitment to the gaming industry and their infrastructure capacity for large-scale events. As a crucial growth market for the global gaming industry, MENA still holds immense potential for further development, which is gradually being unleashed. Looking at the group's business, gaming services are now a revenue contributor with growing importance within our group.

[Tao Yang, Chairman and CEO at Yalla Group Limited]

The proportion of revenues attributable to gaming services has surpassed 30% over the past few years. In addition, our keen insights into MENA's gaming industry dynamics have led to our proactive entry into the mid-core and hardcore game market with Yalla Games. We currently have several staff developers in mid-core and hardcore games and expect to begin testing some of them by year-end. Our product development and release schedules are designed to bring premium polished games to market at optimal times to capture their corresponding user base and market share, and we look forward to seeing this new initiative spur fresh growth in the upcoming years. Expanding from casual games to mid-core and hardcore games is a milestone of note. We are committed to elevating Yalla Games' standing in MENA's mid-core and hardcore game market, capitalizing on our wealth of experience and know-how in casual games to drive success.

[Tao Yang, Chairman and CEO at Yalla Group Limited]

Guided by Yalla's core organizational values and M.U.S.T., especially the last two letters, both simple and target, we will continue to refine every Yalla game product by taking a straightforward and pragmatic approach. We are confident that we can engage our loyal users in the region, whom we've served for nearly a decade, with high-quality games that align with the Yalla brand, while also leveraging these new games to broaden Yalla Group's product ecosystem and market reach. In conclusion, the fast roll-out of digital transformation initiatives across MENA countries is steadily unlocking the market's growth potential. As the largest online social networking and gaming platform in MENA, we will seize every opportunity to contribute to this transformation and the economic development of the region. With strong business fundamentals and increasingly robust product ecosystem, we have full capital confidence in our ability to expand our role in the region's evolution.

[Tao Yang, Chairman and CEO at Yalla Group Limited]

Now, I will turn this call over to our President, Saifi Ismail, for a closer look at our recent developments.

[Saifi Ismail, President at Yalla Group Limited]

Hello, everyone. Thanks for joining us today. Let's move on to our third quarter operations and the performance of our products. We continued to broaden our user base thanks to our strong execution of effective user acquisition strategies. Our average monthly active users grew to 40.2 million, up 14.5% year-over-year. As we dedicated to enhancing our product gamification and user experience, our paying users increased to 12.6 million, up 12% year-over-year. During the quarter, our products demonstrated remarkable strength, with Yalla Ludo and 101 Okey Yalla both setting new quarterly revenue records. We were delighted to reach new heights within our casual game metrics and look forward to replicating Yalla Ludo's success with other products.

[Saifi Ismail, President at Yalla Group Limited]

As we advance the company's development, we continue to identify and create products with deep cultural roots that attract a strong user base in MENA while keeping a close eye on market dynamics and user-changing needs. Our highly skilled team boasts a profound understanding of MENA users' preferences, empowering the consistent development of products as well as online and offline events with enduring appeal. For instance, this quarter, we expanded the regional footprint of our Ludo Champion offline tournament series. Our team not only hosted two tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Egypt but also teamed up with the UAE Esports Federation to host an additional Yalla Ludo offline tournament in Abu Dhabi. This steady stream of offline events has deepened our brand awareness, solidifying Yalla Ludo's industry leadership while also meeting MENA users' entertainment needs.

[Saifi Ismail, President at Yalla Group Limited]

We will continue to cooperate with local and global industry participants to increase user engagement and facilitate development across MENA's gaming industry. We also upgraded Yalla, our flagship product, with a diverse array of fresh features. We were pleased to see Yalla users investing significant time and game currency into our engaging, on-trend activities. This quarter, we embedded a Crazy Soccer game in Yalla's chat room. Tapping into this soccer frenzy currently sweeping the Middle East, chat room users compete in teams and make plays by sending messages and gifts in the chat room, fostering stronger social ties and deeper user engagement. On a related note, I was honored to be invited for an interview this quarter by Pocket Gamer, a globally recognized media leader in the mobile gaming industry, celebrated for its cutting-edge news and insights.

[Saifi Ismail, President at Yalla Group Limited]

We delved into the emerging trends shaping MENA's social networking and gaming industry during our in-depth exchange, with a particular focus on the crucial importance of content localization. We are grateful to Pocket Gamer for this opportunity and its recognition of Yalla Group's leadership in MENA's social networking and gaming industry. As a leading MENA-based internet company, we remain dedicated to creating social and economic value by enhancing digital lifestyles and advancing the region's digital transformation. To sum up, as MENA's leader in online social networking and gaming, we will continue delivering high-quality products and services to our users while playing an active role in the region's digital transformation. We are poised to broaden our business horizons and enhance external collaborations, consistently elevating our brand influence.

[Saifi Ismail, President at Yalla Group Limited]

As always, we will stay true to our vision to become the largest online social networking and entertainment platform in the MENA region. With that, I will now turn the call over to our CFO, Karen, who will discuss our key financial and operational results.

[Karen Hu, CFO at Yalla Group Limited]

Thank you, Saifi. Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. During the third quarter, we continued to execute high-quality growth strategies, leading to our revenues reaching an all-time high. We also continued to boost efficiency and operating leverage. As a result, we enhanced our profitability with expanded net margin of 44.1% and excluding share-based compensation, non-GAAP net margin of 47.9%. Our fundamentals remain solid, strongly supporting our current business operations as well as our investments in further development. We will continue to pursue high-quality, sustainable development, creating long-term value for all our stakeholders. Let's move on to our detailed financials for the third quarter of 2024. Our revenues were $88.9 million in the third quarter of 2024, a 4.4% increase from $85.2 million in the third quarter of last year. The increase was primarily driven by our broadening user base and enhanced monetization capability.

[Karen Hu, CFO at Yalla Group Limited]

This growth was also partially attributable to the significant increase in the number of paying users, which grew to 12.6 million in the third quarter of 2024 from 11.2 million in the third quarter of 2023. Now, let's take a look at our costs and expenses. Our total costs and expenses were $56.4 million in the third quarter of 2024, a 6.9% increase from $52.8 million in the third quarter of last year. Our cost of revenues were $31.8 million in the third quarter of 2024, a 14.6% increase from $27.8 million in the same period last year, primarily due to higher commission fees paid to third-party payment platforms as a result of increasing revenues generated. Cost of revenues as a percentage of total revenues increased to 35.8% in the third quarter of 2024 from 32.6% in the third quarter of last year.

[Karen Hu, CFO at Yalla Group Limited]

Our selling and marketing expenses were $7.4 million in the third quarter of 2024, a 34.9% decrease from $11.3 million in the same period last year, primarily driven by our more disciplined advertising and promotion approach. Selling and marketing expenses as a percentage of total revenues decreased to 8.3% in the third quarter of 2024 from 13.3% in the third quarter of last year. Our general and administrative expenses were $10.1 million in the third quarter of 2024, a 38.3% increase from $7.3 million in the same period last year, primarily due to an increase in the incentive compensation. G&A expenses as a percentage of our total revenues increased to 11.4% in the third quarter of 2024 from 8.6% in the third quarter of last year.

[Karen Hu, CFO at Yalla Group Limited]

Our technology and product development expenses were $7.1 million in the third quarter of 2024, an 11.1% increase from $6.4 million in the same period of last year, primarily due to an increase in salaries and benefits for our technology and product development staff. Technology and product development expenses as a percentage of total revenues increased to 8% in the third quarter of 2024 from 7.5% in the third quarter of last year. As such, our operating income remained relatively stable at $32.5 million in the third quarter of 2024. Our interest income was $7.8 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared with $5.6 million in the third quarter of last year, primarily due to an increase in interest rates applicable to the company's bank deposits.

[Karen Hu, CFO at Yalla Group Limited]

Our income tax expenses were $1.29 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared with $0.71 million in the third quarter of last year. The increase was primarily due to the introduction and implementation of UAE Corporate Tax Law, which is effective for the financial year starting on or after June 1, 2023. As a result of the foregoing, our net income was $39.2 million in the third quarter of 2024, an 11.2% increase from $35.2 million in the third quarter of last year. Turning to our liquidity and capital resources, our cash position remained solid. As of September 30, 2024, we had cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, term deposits, and short-term investments of $570.1 million, compared with $535.7 million as of December 31, 2023.

[Karen Hu, CFO at Yalla Group Limited]

Under our $150 million share repurchase program that began May 21, 2021, and has since been extended by our board through May 21, 2025, we had repurchases 1,736,383 ADS, or Class A ordinary shares, in open market cash repurchases, totaling approximately $7 million in the third quarter of 2024. Cumulatively, we have repurchases 5,709,259 ADS, or Class A ordinary shares, in open market cash repurchases, totaling approximately $42.5 million as of September 30, 2024. Moving to our outlook, for the fourth quarter of 2024, we expect our revenues to be between $77 million and $84 million. The above outlook is based on the current market conditions and reflects the company's management's current and preliminary estimates of the market and operating conditions and customer demands, which are all subject to change. This concludes our prepared remarks for today. Operator, we are now ready to take questions.

[Operator]

Thank you very much. We will now begin our question-and-answer session. To ask a question, you may press Star, then one on your telephone keypad. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To remove yourself from the question queue, you may press Star, then two. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. Today's first question comes from Xueqing Zhang with CICC. Please go ahead.

[Xueqing Zhang, Analyst at CICC]

Thanks, Management, for taking my question. Congratulations on the strong quarter. I have two questions. The first one is about game business. Could Management share more information about Yalla's new game products, such as testing and launching schedules, and how does Management feel about the performance of game business in 2025? And my second question is about flagship products. Regarding flagship products, we have seen some new gameplay attempts on Yalla this year. Could Management share your strategies for flagship products moving forward, and what's the trends for flagship products in Q4 and next year? Thank you.

[Saifi Ismail, President at Yalla Group Limited]

Thank you, Xueqing, for your question. I'll be taking the first one, and leave the second one to our CEO, Mr. Tao Yang. Currently, we have three new self-developed mid-core games in our pipeline. Some of these will enter testing in Q4 2024. After collecting user feedback and then refining the products, we will start promoting them at scale. Looking ahead at the game business in 2025, first of all, we expect Yalla Ludo's performance to remain strong and stable with single-digit % growth next year. Besides that, more upsides or additional growth will come from our new products, as mentioned, as well as potential external collaborations. We will provide more accurate guidance on that after we get a better sense of their product potential from the testing. Thank you.

[Tao Yang, Chairman and CEO at Yalla Group Limited]

Good morning, Xueqing. This is Tao. Regarding our flagship products, as you mentioned, we upgraded Yalla with a diverse array of fresh features this quarter. We will continue to roll out new features for Yalla during the rest of 2024 and into 2025. For Yalla Ludo, we will also keep launching interactive operational events and maybe even new gameplay to boost user engagement. In terms of revenue growth, we are confident that in 2025, both flagship products will maintain their current scale and have the potential to achieve single-digit growth. Hope this answers your question. Thank you, Xueqing.

[Operator]

Thank you. The next question comes from Chenghao Li with CICC. Please go ahead.

[Chenghao Li, Analyst at CICC]

Hi, Management. Thanks for taking my question, and congratulations on a robust quarter. My question is about our game business. Regarding core game products, we mentioned that Yalla Ludo and 101 Okey Yalla both achieved new quarterly revenue records. Could Management elaborate more on drivers of growth on these two products? Thank you.

[Saifi Ismail, President at Yalla Group Limited]

Thank you, Chenghao. This is Saifi. I will answer your question. So overall, our consistent efforts to optimize user experience and refine operational procedures have paid off. In the second half of the quarter, users enthusiastically appreciated Yalla Ludo's diverse operational events. Meanwhile, Yalla Ludo once again successfully held two offline tournaments, further strengthening our brand's local impact. Regarding 101 Okey Yalla, it has been deeply involved in the Turkish market for a few years now, and our team has been constantly enhancing the user experience. One of the new features we launched this quarter has gained excellent feedback, which I believe underscores our long-term localization capabilities and deep understanding of our user needs. Thank you.

[Operator]

Thank you. The next question comes from Sarah Hu with Haitong International. Please go ahead.

[Sarah Hu, Analyst at Haitong International]

Hello, Management. Thank you for taking my questions, and congratulations on a solid quarter. So can Management give us an update on the shareholder returns? Thank you.

[Karen Hu, CFO at Yalla Group Limited]

Hello, Sara. Morning. This is Karen. I will answer your question. Yalla is committed to return value to shareholders through our share repurchase program. This quarter, we repurchased more than 1.7 million ADS in the open market for an aggregate amount of approximately $7 million. As of September 30, 2024, we had deployed a total of $42.5 million for share repurchases. Given our solid fundamentals, we will continue to conduct our share repurchase program while considering cash dividend payments in due course. We will keep you posted if we have more updates. In short, we believe strongly in Yalla's long-term potential and are dedicated to generating value for all parties involved. I hope this answers your question. Thank you.

[Operator]

Thank you. The next question is from Kaifang Jia with CITIC. Please go ahead.

[Kaifang Jia, Analyst at CITIC]

Hi, Management. Thanks for taking my question, and congratulations for a solid quarter. So could Management share any updates about the external cooperation and the expansion into new areas? Thank you.

[Tao Yang, Chairman and CEO at Yalla Group Limited]

Good morning, Kaifang. Thank you for your question. With MENA's ongoing digital transformation and our company's deep local roots and business development experience in the region, Yalla has begun engaging in more discussions with top-tier overseas internet companies interested in exploring this market. We will take pride in our localization capabilities and potential perspectives, which position us well to assist in the development of localized content as well as app distribution in the MENA region. In terms of our verticals, social networking and gaming remain our core focus areas. To address your second question, while the Middle East market remains our primary focus, as we've consistently emphasized, we have already gained a certain level of users in Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia. If in the future we see new products with suitable content, we may consider conducting global promotion. Thank you, Kaifang.

[Operator]

Thank you. The next question is from Rachel Guo with Nomura. Please go ahead.

[Rachel Guo, Analyst at Nomura]

Hi, thanks to Management for giving me this opportunity to ask the question. My question is about the margin. How do we think about the margin trend in the fourth quarter of 2024? Thank you.

[Karen Hu, CFO at Yalla Group Limited]

Hi, Rachel. Thanks for your question. Regarding our profitability for Q4, as we continue to improve our operating efficiency, we are confident that we can maintain our net margin of the 40% level and potentially reach around 45%. Hope this answers your question. Thanks.

[Operator]

As there are no further questions now, I would like to turn the call back over to Management for closing remarks.

[Kerry Gao, Director of Investor Relations at Yalla Group Limited]

Thank you once again for joining us today. We look forward to speaking with you in the next quarter. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact Yalla's Investor Relations or Piacente Financial Communications. Both parties' contact information is available in today's press release as well as on our company website. Thank you.

Participants

Executives

• Kerry Gao, Director of Investor Relations
• Tao Yang, Chairman and CEO
• Saifi Ismail, President
• Karen Hu, CFO

Analysts

• Xueqing Zhang, Analyst at CICC
• Chenghao Li, Analyst at CICC
• Sarah Hu, Analyst at Haitong International
• Kaifang Jia, Analyst at CITIC
• Rachel Guo, Analyst at Nomura