Yalla Rises on Increased Revenue

Chinese voice-chat platform Yalla Group Limited (NYSE: YALA) announced increased revenue and net income for the first quarter of 2021, sending its shares up 2.35% to $20.01.

In the three months through March, Yalla posted revenue of $67.6 million, representing an increase of 221% from the first quarter of 2020. Net income increased by 114.6% to $19.8 million from the same period last year.

Yalla said the increase was primarily driven by the widening of Yalla's and Yalla Ludo's user base and enhancements in Yalla Group's monetization capability. The company reported the average MAUs increased by 206.9% from 6.1 million in the first quarter of 2020 to 18.8 million in the first quarter of 2021.

The number of paying users, the company added, increased from 1.6 million in the first quarter of 2020 to 5.8 million in the first quarter of 2021.

"We had a stellar first quarter marked by strong results in both operational and financial metrics, " said Tao Yang, the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Yalla.

Yang added, " We continue to enrich and expand our product offerings, including Yalla, Yalla Ludo, and various new products in the pipeline, and we believe enhancing product synergies is an essential part of our plan in growing a comprehensive Yalla ecosystem and attracting new users. In addition, strong product synergies will drive efficiencies in user acquisition, encourage new product adoption and build strong platform affinity among our user base."

Established in 2016, Yalla is a social networking and entertainment app. The Middle East and North Africa are its main markets; Dubai is listed as Yalla's headquarters.

Looking ahead, the company said it will keep monitoring trends in MENA's local culture, expand the community, and build an integrated and synergistic ecosystem with diverse products and services tailored to local users' needs.

For the second quarter, Yalla expects revenue to be between $65 million and $71 million, representing an increase of 105.2% to 124.1% from the previous year.