In the ongoing game of “yes” and “no” being played by leading Q&A site Zhihu Inc. (ZH.US; 2390.HK), the answer on whether the company could turn its first-ever profit in its latest earnings report was a clear “no.” But Zhihu, often called the Quora of China, is trying hard. Its latest results show it may have finally found an answer to the profit challenge in vocational training services, which experienced explosive growth during the first quarter.
Zhihu’s latest earnings report released last Wednesday, its first since it made a dual listing in Hong Kong, showed its revenue grew 55.4% year-on-year to 743 million yuan ($111 million) in the first quarter of 2022. But its adjusted net loss grew by an even bigger 89.8% to 367 million yuan from 194 million yuan a year earlier.
Despite widening losses, Zhihu still achieved revenue that beat its own previous forecast against the backdrop of repeated Covid outbreaks that led to massive closures and other macroeconomic headwinds. That seems to show that founder and CEO Zhou Yuan is making good on his quest to “turn good content into good income” by diversifying the company’s revenue sources.