KUAISHOU Technology yesterday slid as much as 11 percent after revealing a drop in livestreaming revenue in its first results report since a US$5.4 billion initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong.

The TikTok-like video service reported a 7.3 percent slide in December quarter sales, while overall revenue grew more than 50 percent.

Kuaishou reported a 50 percent climb in 2020 revenue to 58.8 billion yuan (US$9 billion), barely beating analysts’ lofty projections.

Kuaishou, the nine-year-old operator of China’s most popular short-video service after ByteDance Ltd.’s Douyin, is trying to establish its place among a generation of mega-startups like food delivery giant Meituan and ride-hailing leader Didi Chuxing.

The firm, which is expanding beyond its roots in short videos, is grappling with an influx of competitors keen to tap the world’s largest and fastest-growing livestreaming arena.

Apart from direct rivals such as Joyy, it also has to contend with game-streaming services like Huya Inc. and e-commerce giants such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. that are using the format increasingly to target consumers.

Average users on both a daily and monthly basis slipped in the December quarter from the previous three months.

Kuaishou is doing better in its other businesses, doubling online advertising in the December quarter and growing e-commerce several-fold from a low base.

It posted a net loss for the three months of 19.3 billion yuan — exceeding revenues in part because of fair value changes in preferred shares— versus 18 billion yuan a year earlier. (SD-Agencies)