Boyaa Group 2024 Financial Report Interpretation: Synergistic Growth of Traditional and Web3 Businesses

Original Title: Boya's Net Profit Reached 880 Million Last Year, Aiming to Become a Leading WEB3 Game Company: Holding 3,351 Bitcoins

Original Author: GameLook

Due to the strict regulatory policies on card games in China, poker and other card games have been removed from the Chinese market, and some gaming companies have shifted to overseas markets where regulations are more favorable, with some even reaping significant rewards in the Web3 space.

For instance, recently, Boya Group, a Hong Kong-based gaming company, released its 2024 financial report showing that the group achieved a revenue of 457 million yuan in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 15.8%, with a non-GAAP net profit of 885 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 645.2%. Notably, most of the company's profits in 2024 came from the appreciation of virtual currencies. According to the group's chairman, Dai Zhikang, in the financial report, "The year-on-year increase in (non-GAAP net profit) is mainly due to the increase in the fair value of cryptocurrencies compared to the purchase cost. If we exclude the profits from cryptocurrency appreciation, the group's non-GAAP adjusted net profit growth is 14.8%."

The Boya Group's financial report indicates that the company's total revenue (income) in 2024 was 457 million yuan, with a pre-tax profit of 1.04 billion yuan and an annual profit of 883 million yuan. Among these, traditional game revenue saw a slight and steady growth, and through the continuous expansion of cryptocurrency for value management, it also gained revenue from digital asset appreciation, with a fair value gain from digital assets of 860 million yuan and an appreciation gain of approximately 50 million yuan.

According to the financial report, in 2024, Boya Group continued to make steady progress in the traditional online card game sector while actively laying out its business in the Web3 field.

Dai Zhikang stated, "We will continue to focus on the research and development of online card game products while investing heavily in the research and development of Web3 game products and related infrastructure, and we have invested in and incubated several Web3 projects (such as the Web3 game R&D and operation platform MTT ESports, the Web3 asset data platform RootData, the Web3 asset management platform BounceBit project, and the Awkening Ventures fund, UTXO fund, and Pacific Water Drop digital asset fund)."

In 2024, the company continued to expand its cryptocurrency reserves (mainly Bitcoin BTC), with the group holding approximately 3,351 Bitcoins at an average cost of about $58,628 per coin; it also holds about 295 Ether, with an average cost of about $1,661 per coin.

Regarding the upcoming year, Dai Zhikang mentioned in the financial report, "In 2025, we will continue to maintain steady development in traditional online gaming business while increasing efforts in the research, innovation, and investment incubation of Web3 game-related products and Web3 infrastructure, vigorously promoting the group's business development and layout in the Web3 field. In terms of game products, we will continue to enrich their content and gameplay, continuously improve their functions and infrastructure (including Web3-related infrastructure), strive to enhance user experience, and continuously explore the operational models of game products, especially Web3 game products, focusing on refining product details and diversifying operations, dedicated to creating and incubating high-quality card game products, competitive event products, and industry-leading Web3 game products."

The financial report also clearly states, "The company will strictly comply with the laws and regulations of the different jurisdictions in which it operates, committed to creating and incubating high-quality card game products and industry-leading Web3 game products, forging ahead on the path to building Boya into a century-old brand of online card games, and transforming the company into a pure, leading Web3 listed company."

This is a first among Chinese listed gaming companies.

Financial report data shows that the group's revenue from online games increased due to the appreciation of the cryptocurrencies held by the group and the hosting of online operational activities (such as optimizing event processes, enhancing participant experience, introducing spectator features, and optimizing fairness and competitiveness). The revenue for Q4 2024 was approximately 140 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 38.3% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 32.3%, mainly due to the appreciation of cryptocurrencies.

In terms of operational data, in 2024, the number of paying players for Boya Group's games remained stable at around 200,000, with daily active users at 1.2 million, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 2.8%; however, monthly active users decreased by 7.9% to 4.2 million. Due to the decrease in active users, the ARPPU of the company's poker mobile game increased (from 207 yuan to 231 yuan).

Regarding products, as of December 31, 2024, Boya operated a total of 61 traditional online game products, providing 12 language versions. In 2024, the company terminated the operation of 6 games in the mainland market to focus on expanding overseas markets and continued to increase investment in Web3.

Management mentioned in the financial report, "We focus on game products, especially the research and innovation of Web3 game-related products and Web3 infrastructure (including but not limited to Web3 wallets, DeFi infrastructure, etc.), and vigorously invest in and incubate Web3 projects, actively laying out business in the Web3 field."

At the same time, the long-term holding and continuous expansion of Bitcoin reserves is an important strategy for the group. The company holds an optimistic view on the cryptocurrency market and the development of Bitcoin, believing that Bitcoin has long-term value. In the future, it will continue to expand Bitcoin reserves and does not rule out financing in the secondary market through share issuance and bond issuance.

For the Web3 business layout, the company proposed six measures in the financial report:

1. Actively layout the Web3 strategy to build the company into a pure, leading Web3 listed company;
2. Long-term holding and continuous expansion of cryptocurrency reserves, not ruling out financing in the secondary market through share placements and bond issuance;
3. Continue the research, investment, and incubation of Web3 projects, increase the development of Web3 game-related products and infrastructure, seek suitable Web3-related projects for investment and incubation, and promote the group's business development and layout in the Web3 field;
4. Maintain steady development in traditional online gaming business, continue to improve game functions and infrastructure, continuously enrich game product content and gameplay, focus on user experience, and provide higher quality services;
5. Continue to explore and innovate the operational models of domestic and international game products;
6. Continue to research and develop new competitive event game products, continuously enhance and solidify player loyalty, and strive to create industry-leading Web3 game products and forge a century-old brand of Boya online card games.