Youku: Mixed Results Make Management Confident 优酷业绩喜忧参半管理层仍雄心勃勃

By newsdoug on May 6, 2011

Youku: still a shaky video bet So, what exactly have all those Westerners smitten by the potential of China’s Internet bought into with their investments in money-losing video sharing site Youku (NYSE: YOKU)? The answer is a decidedly mixed bag, based on the company’s first quarterly earnings results. (company announcement) Of course Youku is trumpeting year-on-year revenue growth, which more than doubled, and was still relatively impressive at 20 percent quarter-on-quarter. But less impressive were its net and operating losses, which narrowed just 7-8 percent from a year earlier, even as the company was quick to point out it generated a gross profit for the quarter. Amid all the numbers, the company also flagged it’s preparing for what will probably be another major share sale (company announcement), presumably for new investments, which hasn’t helped its shares in after hours trade. I’ll admit I’ve always been a skeptic of this company, and these mixed results don’t exactly excite me as they seem to show a company whose growth is tapering way too soon for its stage of development. On the other hand, if they were to buy archrival Tudou, which is reportedly on the market (previous post), that could be a different story …

Bottom line: Youku’s first earnings are a decidedly mixed bag and may point to slowing growth far too early in its young development.

那些迷恋中国互联网潜力的西方投资者在向仍在赔钱的视频分享网站优酷<YOKU.N>大把撒钱之後，到底收获到了什麽呢？基於优酷的一季度财报，答案一定是好坏参半。自然，优酷在鼓吹其营收按年增长一倍以上，20%的按季增长成绩也令人印象深刻。但不那麽振奋人心的是公司的净亏损和经营亏损数字，两者比上年同期都仅收窄7%-8%，虽然公司强调本季它实现了毛盈利。优酷还发出信号说，公司很可能会进行又一次大规模售股，想必是为支持新的投资项目。这一消息对於该股的盘後表现显然不利。我得承认，我对这家公司一直有所怀疑，刚公布的业绩也着实没法让我兴奋起来，因为这些数字似乎显示出，对於一家处於当前成长阶段的公司来讲，它的疲态来得太快了一点。话说回来，如果优酷果真如传言所说，准备收购头号竞争对手土豆网，那可能就会是另一番景象了…

一句话：优酷上市後的首份财报肯定是喜忧参半，而且可能意味着，在如此早期的企业发展阶段，其成长步伐的放缓来得实在太早了。