On January 30, the blue cursor released the 2023 performance forecast. Net profit due to mother was 1-150 million yuan, loss was 2.18 billion yuan for the same period in '22; net profit after deduction was 13-180 million yuan, and loss was 190 million yuan for the same period in '22. The changes in performance were mainly due to the resumption of macroeconomic growth in '23.
23Q4 continued to increase in a single quarter, and the Internet advertising market picked up. In 2023, the company's annual revenue exceeded 52 billion yuan, corresponding to Q4 revenue exceeding 15.69 billion yuan, corresponding to a year-on-year growth rate of over 55.2%. On the profit side, the company reversed losses year over year in 2023. Looking at the Q4 single quarter, net profit attributable to mother was a loss of 14—190 million yuan in the 23Q4, compared with a loss of 2.21 billion yuan for the same period in '22; net profit after deducted to mother was 150-20 billion yuan, and a loss of 2.21 billion yuan for the same period in '22. Considering that the 23-year restricted stock incentive plan issued by the company in September 2023 had an expense impact of 57.263 million yuan in the 23Q4 single quarter, and the net cash flow generated by the company's operating activities in 2023 exceeded 600 million yuan, we believe that the company's operations have improved significantly.
From an industry perspective, according to Questmobile, Internet advertising continued to pick up in 23Q4, with a year-on-year increase of 9.8% to 233.06 billion yuan in 23Q4.
The All in AI strategy reshapes AIGC and the blue cursor, and the marketing industry model “Blue AI” accelerates cost reduction and efficiency. Based on the AI strategic layout, and based on deep marketing and R&D technology accumulation, in September of this year, Blue Cursor released the marketing industry model “Blue AI”, which is connected to many top partners such as Microsoft Cloud, Baidu, and Zhipu AI, and is being applied by all employees within Blue Cursor. As a leading industry model in the marketing field, Blue AI will not only change traditional marketing practices, accelerate cost reduction and efficiency, but also promote asset construction and accumulation in the marketing industry in the AI era. Currently, the blue cursor has basically achieved 100% of all types of work and the use of AI by all employees, and the overall business efficiency has been improved by more than 35%. In particular, the offshore business can basically achieve an efficiency improvement of 600%-800%.
The metaverse “human-store” ecosystem is complete, and Blue Universe released the immersive exploration experience brand MakeMake. The blue universe revolves around people, goods, and markets, and comprehensively lays out the three business segments of virtual reality, Web 3.0, and AIGC. At the virtual reality level, we focus on virtual IP operations, virtual content production, and the creation of naked eye 3D/VR/AR. At the Web3.0 level, based on MEME, we explore the application and implementation of blockchain in the field of marketing; at the AIGC level, we launched two SaaS products, Blue Label Smart Broadcast and Dual Action, focusing on the implementation of generative AI technology in marketing scenarios. On October 23, Blue Universe officially released MakeMake, an immersive exploration experience brand. Based on the core genetic advantages of deep practice and content capabilities in the metaverse business, Blue Universe focuses on the discovery and production of global IP, with a strategic layout around introduction, development, distribution and operation.
Profit forecast: We expect revenue for 2023-2025 to be $520.3/628.3/70.85 billion, respectively, and net profit to mother of 1.4/3.2/340 million yuan, corresponding to 24/25 price-earnings ratios of 46.3/44.2, respectively.
Risk warning: The performance forecast is a preliminary estimate or deviation from the performance report. The impact of macroeconomic changes and industry regulations on advertising, the intention of advertisers is uncertain, the progress of new business development falls short of expectations, risk of impairment of goodwill, and the AI business falls short of expectations.