2024年上半年財務概覽：
上半年公司總收入爲41.9億，超越彭博一致預期（37.2億），yoy+27.7%；毛利率爲49.7%，不及彭博一致預期（51.8%），yoy+0.8pcts；經營利潤爲4.5億元，不及彭博一致預期（5.0億元），同比+46.1%；經營利潤率爲10.8%，yoy+1.3pcts；Non-IFRS歸母淨利潤爲7.0億元，超越彭博一致預期（6.5億元），yoy+16.4%。
分收入情況看，
在線業務收入爲19.4億元，yoy-2.2%。1）公司自有平臺收入爲16.9億元，yoy-0.9%，主要由於公司持續優化分發渠道ROI並專注核心產品增長；2）騰訊產品渠道收入爲1.3億元，yoy-26.2%，主要由於公司聚焦高質量付費閱讀商業模式，導致免費閱讀渠道廣告收入持續減少；3）第三方平臺收入爲1.2億元，yoy+18.2%，主要由於公司增加了與第三方分銷合作伙伴合作。IP運營及其他收入爲22.5億元，yoy+73.3%。1）來自 IP 運營的收入爲22.0億元，yoy+75.7%，主要原因是爆款劇集、電影及動畫上線數量增加的同時，IP授權改編以及短劇、衍生品及卡牌等新業務規模顯著增長；2）其他收入爲0.5億元，yoy+6.9%，主要來源於紙質圖書銷售。
24H1E results: better-than-expected 28% revenue, 16% non-IFRS net profit growth
Key metrics:
China Literature (CL) released unaudited 24H1E results:
•Revenue rose 27.7% yoy to RMB4.19bn, above the Bloomberg consensus estimate (BBG) of RMB3.72bn.
•Gross margin expanded 0.8ppt yoy to 49.7% but below BBG’s 51.8%.
•Operating profit shot up 46.1% yoy to RMB454.4m, worse than BBG’s RMB500m.
•Operating margin was 10.8%, up 1.3ppt yoy.
•Non-IFRS net profit was RMB702.1m, better than BBG’s RMB650m, up 16.4% yoy.
Online
channels generated RMB1.94bn revenue in H1E, down 2.2% yoy, comprising:
•Direct business: RMB1.69bn, down 0.9%, as the company optimized distribution channel ROI and focused on growing core products.
•Tencent’s product channels: CL generated RMB130.7m via its parent company’s channels, 26.2% yoy lower because its focus on a premium pay-to-read business model meant lower advertising revenue from the free-to-read channel.
•Third-party platforms: RMB115.5m, up yoy 18.2%, as CL increased collaborations with 3P distribution partners.
IP and other business
generated RMB2.25bn revenue in H1E, up 73.3% yoy:
•IP operations drew RMB2.20bn, up 75.7% yoy, as the number of popular dramas, movies and animations increased, alongside rising scale at new businesses such as IP licenced adaptations, while short dramas, merchandise and cards.
•Other incomes came to RMB47.7m, up yoy 6.9%, mainly from paper book sales.
頂級IP續作成功，建立多端協同、一體開發的IP全產業鏈聯動運營機制。
《慶餘年第二季》斬獲佳績：騰訊視頻熱度34000點，在CCTV-8上連續18天全國全部頻道實時收視率第一，併成爲Disney+平臺熱度最高中國大陸電視劇。慶餘年的成功得益於閱文從文學到影視、遊戲、衍生品、卡牌全產業鏈聯動機制。1）通過上線活動專區開放限免閱讀，慶餘年閱讀量環比增加38倍，專區獲得億級流量，起點讀書APP DAU創年度新高；2）推出11款《慶餘年》盲盒和軟周邊，以及高端收藏卡牌，其中盲盒銷量超20萬隻，影視卡牌播出前GMV高達2000萬元；3）同步推出系列線下活動，激發社交媒體二次傳播；4）積極進行IP授權合作，《慶餘年》IP授權客戶超20個。
Joy of Life 2 hit new viewership highs across the nation; full-chain coverage
Most watched:
the second season of CL’s popular historical drama Joy of Life (JOL) was a runaway success. It provided operational linkage for the full IP value chain through multiple end-market collaborations and integrated development. JOL 2 chalked up an all-time-high popularity index of 34,000 points on Tencent Video and hogged the top spot in nationwide live viewership rankings on CCTV-8 for 18 days straight, while being the most-watched mainland of China drama series on Disney+.
Full-chain coverage:
the company attributes the drama’s success to its full-value-chain coverage: from books, film and TV, games, merchandise and collectible cards:
•Virtual fan zone: the new exclusive zone for JOL fans on the Qidian Reader app attracted 100m visits and raised JOL reading volume by 38x qoq, a new annual record in terms of daily active users.
•Merchandise: CL launched 11 categories of JOL blind boxes as well as merchandise like premium collectible cards, with more than 200,000 blind boxes sold. Even before the series aired, JOL cards contributed RMB20m in GMV.
•Offline events: CL conducted a series of offline activities to drum up secondary social media interaction.
•IP license collaborations: JOL has more than 20 IP licensed customers.
IP創作：在線閱讀內容生態持續茁壯成長。
1）持續孵化優質作家作品。2024 H1在線閱讀平臺新增約17萬名作家及32萬本小說，新增字數超過210億，其中優質新作迭出，均訂過5萬新簽約作品數量同比+75%。閱讀收入超200萬人民幣新簽約作品數量同比+33%。年輕作家加速崛起，2024年新晉“白金大神”名單中90後作家佔比超70%。2）聚焦用戶社區建設，強化頭部IP運營。2024 H1 MPU超過880萬。3）持續拓展海外業務。截至2024年6月30日，海外閱讀平臺WebNovel提供約5,000 部中文翻譯作品和約65萬部當地原創作品。
Reading platform: content incubation, nurturing writers and a user ecosystem
Nurturing writers:
CL added about 170,000 writers and 320,000 novels to its online reading platform in 24H1, collectively contributing 21bn Chinese characters as quality works emerged one after another. Its writers embody the following profile:
•More popular: the number of newly signed works with an average of 50,000 subscribers per chapter increased 75% yoy.
•More lucrative: the number of newly signed works with average revenue of over RMB2m increased 33% yoy.
•Younger: a rising supply market with those born post-1990s accounting for more than 70% of new writers in 2024.
Social ecosystem:
•Reader community: the company focused on building up user communities to boost operations of flagship IPs. Monthly paying users grew to more than 8.8m in 24H1.
•Global expansion initiatives: its WebNovel reading platform for international readers, which has about 5,000 translated works and about 650,000 original local works as of 30 June 2024.
IP可視化：影視領域，
《慶餘年第二季》、《熱辣滾燙》、《與鳳行》、《玫瑰的故事》影視劇頭部項目頻出。影視項目表現良好，《熱辣滾燙》居2024年中國票房冠軍，累計票房35億元；《與鳳行》22天登頂芒果TV電視劇熱播榜；《玫瑰的故事》居中國視聽大數據CVB黃金時段電視劇收視率第一。項目海外市場表現不俗，《與鳳行》在全球180多個國家與地區播出，覆蓋16個語種；《熱辣滾燙》是2024海外票房最高的華語電影。動畫領域，新老番劇持續播出，收購騰訊動漫進一步加速IP可視化進程。2024上半年，動畫播放榜前20中15部改編自閱文IP。閱文已完成對騰訊動漫資產收購，將《一人之下》等頭部國漫IP納入內容生態。展望後續：2024年下半年，《大奉打更人》《啞舍》等電視劇有望播出，《獨身女人》《刑警時刻》《年少有爲》《月都花落》則將於下半年開機拍攝。未來兩年閱文集團儲備豐富，包括電視劇《掃毒風暴》《獨身女人》《刑警時刻》《年少有爲》《除惡》《贅婿2》《千里江山圖》《塵埃落定》《月都花落》，電影《中國神探》《熱情似火》等。
IP projects: film & TV, animation; cards, merchandise and games
Film & TV:
the company released a constant rollout of flagship projects such as JOL 2, YOLO, The Legend of Shen Li and The Tale of Rose. They performed well in both the Chinese and foreign markets:
Mainland:
•YOLO topped the Chinese box office with box-office receipts of RMB3.5bn in 2024-to-date.
•The Legend of Shen Li topped Mango TV’s hit dramas list on 22 days.
•The Tale of Rose reigned over Chinese prime-time drama series, according to official ratings by China Audiovisual Big Data.
International markets:
•The Legend of Shen Li was broadcast in more than 180 countries and regions around the world in 16 languages.
•YOLO has been the highest-grossing Chinese film in foreign markets in 2024.
Pipeline works
•Potential H2E releases: Guardians of the Dafeng and The Company.
•Filming to start in H2E: Lady Liberty, Criminal Police Time, Young and Promising and A Beautiful Destiny.
•Release slated in next 2 years: The Narcotic Operation, Lady Liberty, Criminal Police Time, Young and Promising, The Devil Between Us, My Heroic Husband II, A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains, May The Dust Settles, A Beautiful Destiny, and the movies Chinese Detective and Some Like It Hot.
IP商品化和變現：衍生品領域卡牌業務重點突破。
閱文推出《慶餘年》《全職高手》《詭祕之主》《鬥破蒼穹》等IP的盲盒、手辦、軟周等一系列作品，不斷拓展IP衍生品授權範圍及規模。卡牌業務方面，2024 H1 IP卡牌GMV約爲1億元，展望後續：1）影視卡牌上，計劃推出《大奉打更人》等項目卡牌產品；2）動漫卡牌上，《全職高手》《鬥破蒼穹》《詭祕之主》《一人之下》《狐妖小紅娘》等計劃於今年下半年在海內外市場推出產品。遊戲領域，《斗羅大陸》《鬥破蒼穹》等遊戲流水錶現佳，已授權待上線項目儲備豐富，如《詭祕之主》。
Animation:
the company continues to stream both new and old animation works, while CL’s acquisition of Tencent Animation accelerates its IP launch process. 15 of the top 20 animations in 24H1 were adapted from CL’s IPs. CL completed its acquisition of Tencent Animation’s assets, and is incorporating IPs from top Chinese comics like The Outcast into its content ecosystem.
IP cards and merchandise:
CL made major strides in IP monetization, particularly in merchandise like card decks for Joy of Life, The King’s Avatar, Lord of the Mysteries, Battle Through the Heavens, as well as IP blind boxes, toys and accessories. It expanded the scope and scale of IP merchandise licensing. It plans to launch collectible cards for these IPs:
•Film and TV: Guardians of the Dafeng.
•Animation: merchandise for The King’s Avatar, Battle Through the Heavens, Lord of the Mysteries, The Outcast and The Fox Spirit Matchmaker are slated to launch in the Chinese and foreign markets in H2E.
Games:
Soul Land and Battle Through the Heavens performed well, while its launch pipeline for licensing projects includes Lord of the Mysteries.
新技術與新業務探索：AI技術深層賦能整體生態，短劇市場進展迅速。
AI上，1）“妙筆大模型”不斷迭代，助力作家提高生產效率。2）AI翻譯技術助力海外平臺翻譯作品數量快速增長。2024 H1，WebNovel新增超1200本AI翻譯作品，覆蓋英語、西班牙語、葡萄牙語、德語、法語等多種語言。AI翻譯作品在WebNovel暢銷榜前100的作品中佔比已達約40%。3）AI技術與有聲書、動漫、視頻、衍生品等各類IP內容形態結合。短劇上，閱文充分發揮內容及創作者優勢打造精品短劇，單部作品流水達3000萬元，預計全年將推出100多部短劇，並探索如互動短劇等新形式。
New forays: Smart Pen LLM, AI translations, content diversity and short dramas
AI technology synergizes with the overall ecosystem and the company is making progress in its short drama business:
•AI:
CL’s Smart Pen large language model’s constant iteration helps writers become more productive.
•Auto translations:
technological advances have expedited the number of translated works on CL’s foreign platforms. WebNovel added over 1,200 new AI-translated works in 24H1, covering English, Spain, Portugal, German, French and other languages. AI translations make up about 40% of WebNovel’s top 100 best-selling titles.
•Synergies:
AI tech incorporated into IP content forms like audiobooks, animations, videos and adaptations. CL maximizes the advantages of content and creators to create quality short dramas with a turnover of RMB30m for a single work. It expects to launch more than 100 short dramas through the year, as it explores new forms such as interactive short dramas.
