Phoenix New Media (NYSE:FENG) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $1.05 EPS

Phoenix New Media (NYSE:FENG) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The information services provider reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.06) by $1.05, FiscalAI reports. Phoenix New Media had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 1.31%. The company had revenue of $31.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.55 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Phoenix New Media’s conference call:

• Q2 revenue rose 15.8% year over year to RMB 216.7 million, while gross margin improved to 57.3% from 49.2% and the company returned to attributable net income of RMB 6.5 million.
• Paid services revenue more than doubled to RMB 69.8 million, driven primarily by digital reading services offered through Mini Programs on third-party applications; management expects this segment to remain near current levels in Q3.
• Net advertising revenue declined 4.2% year over year to RMB 146.9 million, with delayed Chinese liquor contract renewals weighing on the quarter. Total operating expenses increased 30.4%, largely because of higher sales and marketing spending for digital reading services.
• Management highlighted strong commercial traction from premium content, including more than 75 million impressions and over 10 leading brand participants for its World Cup-related sports content, as well as over 100% year-over-year revenue growth in its technology channel.
• Phoenix New Media held RMB 990 million in cash, deposits, short-term investments, and restricted cash at quarter-end, and guided for Q3 revenue of RMB 220.9 million to RMB 235.9 million, implying continued year-over-year growth.

Phoenix New Media Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FENG traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $1.54. The stock had a trading volume of 6,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,437. The company has a market capitalization of $18.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62 and a beta of -0.20. Phoenix New Media has a 12-month low of $1.39 and a 12-month high of $3.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1.54 and a 200-day moving average of $1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.91 and a current ratio of 2.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Phoenix New Media in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Sell”.

About Phoenix New Media

Phoenix New Media Inc is a leading Chinese new media company that provides online news and information services through its flagship portal, ifeng.com, as well as a suite of mobile applications and video platforms. The company offers a wide array of multimedia content, including live streaming news, on-demand video, audio programming and article publishing across topics such as finance, technology, entertainment, lifestyle and sports. In addition to content distribution, Phoenix New Media generates revenue through digital advertising and subscription services.

Formed as a spin-off of its parent Nanfang Media Group’s overseas broadcasting business, Phoenix New Media was established to capitalize on the rapid growth of Internet and mobile consumption in China.