BOSS Zhipin Shines with 30.93% Revenue Surge but Battles High Marketing Costs

BOSS Zhipin (BZ) disclosed its fiscal 2024 Q2 financial results, showing robust growth across key metrics. For the first half of the year, BOSS Zhipin reported a cumulative revenue of CNY 3.62 billion, marking a year-over-year increase of 30.93%. The net profit for the same period reached CNY 659 million, a significant rise of 92.54% compared to the previous year. The cumulative basic earnings per share (EPS) for the fiscal year stood at CNY 0.75, up from CNY 0.36 in the previous year.

The online recruitment platform has seen substantial progress since its IPO filing in May 2021, updating its prospectus in June with plans to issue 48 million American Depositary Shares (ADS) at a price range of USD 17-19 per ADS, aiming to raise approximately USD 864 million. The funds are earmarked for enhancing technology infrastructure, upgrading AI capabilities, and expanding new products and services to attract a broader user base. As of March 31, 2021, BOSS Zhipin has served 85.8 million certified job seekers and 13 million certified enterprise users, spanning 6.3 million certified companies.

Despite the impressive revenue growth, BOSS Zhipin continues to face challenges related to profitability. In 2019 and 2020, the company reported adjusted net losses of CNY 468 million and CNY 285 million, respectively. The first quarter of 2021 saw an adjusted net loss of CNY 128 million, narrowing by 51.43% year-over-year. The primary factor behind the ongoing losses is high marketing expenses, which in Q1 2021 were CNY 619 million, constituting 78.44% of total revenue. Marketing expenses have consistently accounted for over 60% of the company’s annual revenue in recent years.