Opera Ltd (OPRA) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to the Opera Limited Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's call is being recorded. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the call over to your speaker today, Matt Wolfson, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

歡迎參加 Opera Limited 2023 年第二季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，今天的通話正在錄音。 （操作員說明）我現在想將電話轉給今天的發言人，投資者關係主管馬特·沃爾夫森（Matt Wolfson）。請繼續。

Thanks for joining us. As usual, I have with me today our co-CEO, Song Lin and our CFO, Frode Jacobsen. Before I hand the call over to Song, I would like to remind everyone that in the conference call today, the company will be making statements about its future results and expectations, which constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Such statements are based on current expectations and how we perceive the current economic environment and are inherently subject to economic, competitive and other uncertainties and contingencies beyond the control of management. You should be cautioned that these statements are not guarantees of future performance. You may refer to the safe harbor statement in the company's earnings release for details.

感謝您加入我們。和往常一樣，今天與我在一起的還有我們的聯合首席執行官宋林和首席財務官弗羅德·雅各布森。在我把電話交給宋之前，我想提醒大家，在今天的電話會議中，公司將就其未來業績和預期做出陳述，這些陳述構成私人證券訴訟改革意義上的前瞻性陳述行為。此類陳述基於當前預期以及我們對當前經濟環境的看法，並且本質上受到管理層無法控制的經濟、競爭和其他不確定性和意外事件的影響。請注意，這些陳述並不能保證未來的表現。詳情請參閱公司財報中的安全港聲明。

Our commentary today will also include non-IFRS financial measures, including adjusted EBITDA, which are different from our consolidated financial statements that are prepared and presented based on IFRS. We believe that the use of non-IFRS financial measures provides an additional tool for investors to use in evaluating ongoing operating results and trends. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for financial information prepared in accordance with IFRS. We have also posted unaudited quarterly historic financial results of Opera on our Investor Relations website. We will be live posting highlights from the call at Investor Opera, so please follow along there during the call and in the future.

我們今天的評論還將包括非國際財務報告準則的財務指標，包括調整後的 EBITDA，這與我們根據國際財務報告準則編制和列報的合併財務報表不同。我們相信，使用非國際財務報告準則財務指標為投資者提供了一種額外的工具，可用於評估持續的經營業績和趨勢。這些措施不應被孤立地考慮或作為根據國際財務報告準則編制的財務信息的替代品。我們還在投資者關係網站上發布了 Opera 未經審計的季度歷史財務業績。我們將在 Investor Opera 上現場發布電話會議的精彩內容，因此請在電話會議期間和未來關注該電話會議。

With that, let me turn the call over to our co-CEO, Song Lin, who will cover our second quarter operational highlights and strategy, and then Frode will discuss our financials and expectations going forward.

接下來，讓我將電話轉給我們的聯合首席執行官宋林，他將介紹我們第二季度的運營亮點和戰略，然後弗羅德將討論我們未來的財務狀況和預期。

Thanks, Matt, and thank you everyone for joining us today. So we are very pleased to announce another very strong quarter, which exceeded our previous issued guidance for both revenue and profitability. The first half of the year is off to a great start and we are happy to be able to raise our 2023 guidance today. Second quarter revenue reaches $94.1 million, an increase of 21% over the previous year. This was our tenth consecutive quarter above 20% top line growth.

謝謝馬特，也感謝大家今天加入我們。因此，我們非常高興地宣布又一個非常強勁的季度，超出了我們之前發布的收入和盈利能力指引。今年上半年有一個良好的開端，我們很高興今天能夠提高 2023 年的指引。第二季度收入達到9410萬美元，比上年增長21%。這是我們連續第十個季度營收增長超過 20%。

Adjusted EBITDA was $20.5 million, a 22% margin. The second quarter builds upon our previous successes and communicated strategy on focusing on growth in the western markets with the potential for the greatest value. So to those of you who have been following the Opera story, this is nothing new. Annualized ARPU was $1.17 in the second quarter, an increase of 25% compared to last year and up 80% relative to the first quarter. While our total user base was relatively stable, we continued our user base mix shift towards higher ARPU users, while users in western markets, representing 15% of the total user base.

調整後 EBITDA 為 2050 萬美元，利潤率為 22%。第二季度以我們之前的成功為基礎，並傳達了專注於具有最大價值潛力的西方市場增長的戰略。所以對於那些一直關注歌劇故事的人來說，這並不是什麼新鮮事。第二季度年化ARPU為1.17美元，比去年增長25%，比第一季度增長80%。雖然我們的總用戶群相對穩定，但我們繼續將用戶群結構轉向更高 ARPU 用戶，而西方市場的用戶佔總用戶群的 15%。

Advertising revenue grew 25% compared to last year representing 57% of total revenue and continues to benefit from the underlying growth in our audience extension business on top of our O&O advertising. Search revenue grew 15% in the second quarter, driven by continued user growth in western markets. Opera has a track record of innovating ahead of the browsers that come with operating systems and bringing new user-friendly technology to its browsers. With our long history of giving users direct access to the Internet's most in-demand platforms, we have expanded our existing AI program for our browsers, news and gaming products, taking advantage of our own solutions as well as new and existing partnerships.

廣告收入較去年增長 25%，佔總收入的 57%，並繼續受益於 O&O 廣告之外的受眾擴展業務的潛在增長。在西方市場用戶持續增長的推動下，第二季度搜索收入增長了 15%。 Opera 擁有領先於操作系統附帶的瀏覽器進行創新並為其瀏覽器帶來新的用戶友好技術的記錄。憑藉我們為用戶提供直接訪問互聯網最受歡迎平台的悠久歷史，我們利用我們自己的解決方案以及新的和現有的合作夥伴關係，擴展了我們的瀏覽器、新聞和遊戲產品的現有人工智能程序。

To make sure our users to get the best technologies and solutions available, we first partnered with Open AI, maker of the ChatGPT and our close collaboration has already yielded some impressive results. We have decided to go back to the drawing board and redesign our flagship desktop browser, reshaping the UX and UI to both improve the user experience and prepare the platform for current and upcoming AI features. With Opera One, we managed to create a powerful, feature-rich browser that dynamically adapts to all users' needs, designed to embed all the current AI technologies and leave considerable room for more. We are excited about Opera One as a high-quality platform for the future of AI-enhanced web browsing. This redesigned browser was met with overwhelmingly positive feedback from both users and tech media.

為了確保我們的用戶獲得最好的技術和解決方案，我們首先與 ChatGPT 的製造商 Open AI 合作，我們的密切合作已經取得了一些令人印象深刻的成果。我們決定回到繪圖板並重新設計我們的旗艦桌面瀏覽器，重塑用戶體驗和用戶界面，以改善用戶體驗並為當前和即將推出的人工智能功能做好平台準備。通過 Opera One，我們成功創建了一款功能強大、功能豐富的瀏覽器，可以動態適應所有用戶的需求，旨在嵌入所有當前的人工智能技術，並為更多技術留出相當大的空間。我們對 Opera One 作為未來人工智能增強型網頁瀏覽的高質量平台感到興奮。這款重新設計的瀏覽器得到了用戶和科技媒體的壓倒性積極反饋。

Opera One was the first of all browsers to include our browser AI, Aria as a well-connected and current event aware generative AI service offered entirely for free. Aria marks new beginning of a new kind of browsing issuance for Opera users. Aria allows users to collaborate with AI while browsing the web, generating textual codes or getting their product queries answered. Aria is based on Opera's own composed infrastructure, which is connected to OpenAI's GPT technology. In addition, Aria is further enhanced by additional capabilities such as a live results from the web, the composed infrastructure is also easily scalable. It allows Aria to connect to multiple AI models and in the future will expand by integrating further capabilities such as directing users to relevant services powered by our key personnels for monetization.

Opera One 是第一個包含我們的瀏覽器 AI 的瀏覽器，Aria 是一項完全免費提供的連接良好且具有時事感知能力的生成式 AI 服務。 Aria 標誌著 Opera 用戶新型瀏覽方式的新開始。 Aria 允許用戶在瀏覽網頁、生成文本代碼或獲取產品查詢答案時與 AI 協作。 Aria 基於 Opera 自己的組合基礎設施，並連接到 OpenAI 的 GPT 技術。此外，Aria 還通過其他功能（例如來自網絡的實時結果）進一步增強，組成的基礎設施也易於擴展。它允許 Aria 連接到多個人工智能模型，並且未來將通過集成更多功能來擴展，例如引導用戶使用由我們關鍵人員提供支持的相關服務以實現貨幣化。

Aria is also available in our mobile browsers for Android and IOS allowing users to enjoy AI-powered browsing on the go. It has proven to be a hit with users, and they are clearly enjoying the experience as evidenced by a lift in total time spent as well as increased search queries and page views position. Opera is looking forward to developing more cutting edge AI solutions, faster bringing Aria to all our major platforms, Opera GX and the immediate horizon, but the bar continues to be set high as we strive to be in the vanguard of technological innovation.

Aria 還可以在我們的 Android 和 IOS 移動瀏覽器中使用，讓用戶可以隨時隨地享受人工智能驅動的瀏覽。事實證明，它受到了用戶的歡迎，他們顯然很享受這種體驗，總時間的增加以及搜索查詢和頁面瀏覽量的增加就證明了這一點。 Opera 期待開發更前沿的人工智能解決方案，更快地將 Aria 引入我們所有的主要平台、Opera GX 和近期平台，但隨著我們努力成為技術創新的先鋒，我們的標準仍然很高。

Opera GX continues to grow its user base, up another 9% sequentially to $24 million during the quarter with an annualized ARPU of $3.10, an increase of 7% compared to the second quarter of 2022. Monetization grows faster on PC than mobile given greater west exposure on the PC side. In addition to being engaged with gamers, GX has a very attractive demographic, predominantly Gen Z.

Opera GX 的用戶群繼續增長，本季度同比增長9%，達到2400 萬美元，年化ARPU 為3.10 美元，與2022 年第二季度相比增長7%。考慮到大西部地區，PC 上的貨幣化增長速度快於移動設備PC端曝光。除了與遊戲玩家互動之外，GX 還擁有非常有吸引力的受眾群體，主要是 Z 世代。

With Opera GX, we have enabled those gamers to differentiate themselves from others in a way their Internet experience matches both the look and feel of their broader setups and connects them directly to the services they use. For an online native generation, this individualism extends from the physical world to a digital one and we provide GX as a key part of that expression and experience. So in this corner, we have added even more features to Opera GX with thousands of new modes and live wallpapers and we think some of our users will appreciate the addition of AI to GX in time to help with their home work in the coming year. The pace of innovation so far this year showcases our ability to react and take advantage of rapidly evolving technologies and offer unique browsing experiences to our users.

借助 Opera GX，我們使這些遊戲玩家能夠通過他們的互聯網體驗與更廣泛的設置的外觀和感覺相匹配並將他們直接連接到他們使用的服務來使自己與其他玩家區分開來。對於網絡原生一代來說，這種個人主義從物理世界延伸到數字世界，我們提供 GX 作為這種表達和體驗的關鍵部分。因此，在這個角落，我們為 Opera GX 添加了更多功能，包括數千種新模式和動態壁紙，我們認為我們的一些用戶會喜歡在 GX 中及時添加 AI，以幫助他們來年的家庭作業。今年迄今為止的創新步伐展示了我們對快速發展的技術做出反應和利用快速發展的技術並為用戶提供獨特的瀏覽體驗的能力。

As we move to the remainder of the year, you can expect this to continue with Aria coming to more browsers, new AI features and skills being rolled out, and GX continuing its growth as the leading browser for demanding gamers. With that, let me turn the call over to Frode.

隨著今年剩餘時間的到來，您可以預期這種情況將繼續下去，Aria 將出現在更多瀏覽器中，新的AI 功能和技能正在推出，並且GX 作為面向高要求遊戲玩家的領先瀏覽器將繼續發展。接下來，讓我把電話轉給弗羅德。

Thank you, Song. I'll then turn to some additional details on our numbers and the capital returns within yet another strong quarter for Opera. Our Q2 revenue benefited from solid underlying growth of both advertising and search revenues in spite of FX headwinds. As a result, we came in just above the high end of our guidance at $94.1 million or 21% year-over-year growth. On an FX-neutral basis, our year-over-year growth would have been about 28%. We do observe examples of volatility amongst advertisers in the current macroeconomic picture, but our underlying user base mix shift towards higher ARPU users, continues to benefit our trajectory even as western users still only represent 15% of our total user base.

謝謝你，宋。然後，我將討論有關 Opera 又一個強勁季度的數據和資本回報的一些額外細節。儘管存在外匯不利因素，但我們第二季度的收入仍受益於廣告和搜索收入的強勁基礎增長。結果，我們的業績略高於指導上限，達到 9,410 萬美元，同比增長 21%。在匯率中性的基礎上，我們的同比增長率約為 28%。我們確實觀察到當前宏觀經濟形勢下廣告商波動的例子，但我們的潛在用戶群組合轉向更高的ARPU 用戶，繼續有利於我們的發展軌跡，儘管西方用戶仍然只占我們總用戶群的15% 。

In line with our revenue performance, adjusted EBITDA also came in just above the top end of guidance at $20.5 million or 22% margin. Overall, our cost categories came in according to our expectations with a slight shift from marketing expenses to cost of revenue items. We generated operating cash flow of $15.5 million in the quarter, which is net of $3.4 million tax prepayments. Free cash flow from operations which subtracts CapEx items and lease payments from our operating cash flow was $13.2 million.

與我們的收入表現一致，調整後的 EBITDA 也略高於指導上限，為 2050 萬美元，即 22% 的利潤率。總體而言，我們的成本類別符合我們的預期，從營銷費用到收入成本項目略有轉變。本季度我們產生了 1550 萬美元的運營現金流，其中扣除了 340 萬美元的預繳稅款。從運營現金流中減去資本支出項目和租賃付款後的運營自由現金流為 1,320 萬美元。

During the quarter, we launched a recurring dividend program. The annual dividend is $0.80 per ADS to be paid semiannually. The record date for the first $0.40 payment was in June with payments in July. Our first recurring dividend amounted to $36 million in total, of which $11 million was paid in cash to ADS holders and $25 million was offset against our receivable from the sale of Star X. We did not repurchase any shares under our buyback program in the quarter. As previously communicated, further buybacks will be conducted in an opportunistic manner as we focus on dividends as our main avenue of capital returns.

在本季度，我們推出了經常性股息計劃。年度股息為每份 ADS 0.80 美元，每半年支付一次。首筆 0.40 美元付款的記錄日期是 6 月，付款日期是 7 月。我們的首次經常性股息總計3600 萬美元，其中1100 萬美元以現金支付給ADS 持有人，2500 萬美元抵消了我們出售Star X 的應收賬款。本季度我們沒有根據回購計劃回購任何股票。正如之前所傳達的，由於我們專注於將股息作為資本回報的主要途徑，因此進一步的回購將以機會主義的方式進行。

Finally, our balance sheet remains very healthy with $98 million of cash and no corporate debt. In addition, our receivable from the sale of Star X totals $32 million present value, which is presented net of the first dividend offset and which will continue to reduce our cash expense of dividends until it has been fully consumed. We continue to value our 9.5% stake in OPay at $163 million, presented as held for sale. In total, that adds up to $196 million of balance sheet value in addition to our cash position.

最後，我們的資產負債表仍然非常健康，擁有 9800 萬美元現金，沒有公司債務。此外，我們出售 Star X 的應收賬款現值總計 3200 萬美元，扣除首次股息抵消後列報，這將繼續減少我們的股息現金支出，直到全部用完。我們繼續將 OPay 9.5% 的股份估值為 1.63 億美元，以持有待售形式呈現。總的來說，除了我們的現金頭寸之外，資產負債表價值總計達 1.96 億美元。

Now turning to our updated guidance for the full year 2023 and the third quarter. Given our continued strong trajectory, we are yet again raising our guidance for the year on both revenue and adjusted EBITDA. We continue to reflect caution given the broader macroeconomic picture, but the core trajectory of Opera and our products and user base results in a net positive impulse to our outlook and ranges used. On full year revenue, we now guide $380 million to $390 million, up from our last range of $373 million to $390 million, which corresponds to 16% revenue growth at the midpoint.

現在轉向我們更新的 2023 年全年和第三季度指引。鑑於我們持續強勁的發展軌跡，我們再次提高了今年的收入和調整後 EBITDA 的指引。鑑於更廣泛的宏觀經濟形勢，我們繼續保持謹慎態度，但 Opera 的核心軌跡以及我們的產品和用戶群對我們的前景和使用範圍產生了淨積極的推動力。就全年收入而言，我們現在的指導值為 3.8 億美元至 3.9 億美元，高於我們上次的 3.73 億美元至 3.9 億美元範圍，相當於中點收入增長 16%。

For annual adjusted EBITDA, we lift our guidance range to be $80 million to $84 million, up from $77 million to $83 million, representing a 21% margin at the midpoints. In terms of cost expectations, our commentary from prior quarters still stands. We expect marketing costs to be higher in the second half and build in a bit below $120 million for the year. Cost of revenue items will likely remain around current levels relative to revenue, resulting in a percentage in the low 20s.

對於年度調整後 EBITDA，我們將指導範圍從 7700 萬美元上調至 8300 萬美元，至 8000 萬美元至 8400 萬美元，中間利潤率為 21%。就成本預期而言，我們對前幾個季度的評論仍然有效。我們預計下半年營銷成本將更高，全年營銷成本將略低於 1.2 億美元。收入項目相對於收入的成本可能會保持在當前水平附近，從而導致百分比在 20 左右。

Cash compensation expense is still expected to increase modestly relative to 2022 and all other OpEx items before adjusted EBITDA remains expected to come in at just above $30 million for the year as a whole. For the third quarter, we guide revenue to $97 million to $100 million, which is 15% growth at the midpoint. We guide adjusted EBITDA to $18.5 million to $20.5 million, translating to a 20% margin at the midpoints. Overall, and to conclude, we've obviously never been more successful, and we are very pleased with our product lineup, road maps and our growth strategy. We are also proud to combine healthy growth with healthy profit margins and cash flows and how that directly benefits our shareholders through our past major stock buybacks and a special dividend earlier this year and most recently with initiation of a recurring dividend.

預計現金補償費用相對 2022 年仍將小幅增長，​​調整後 EBITDA 之前的所有其他運營支出項目預計全年仍將略高於 3000 萬美元。對於第三季度，我們預計收入為 9700 萬至 1 億美元，中值增長 15%。我們預計調整後 EBITDA 為 1850 萬美元至 2050 萬美元，相當於中點利潤率為 20%。總的來說，總而言之，我們顯然從未如此成功，我們對我們的產品陣容、路線圖和增長戰略非常滿意。我們還很自豪能夠將健康的增長與健康的利潤率和現金流結合起來，以及如何通過我們過去的主要股票回購和今年早些時候的特別股息以及最近啟動的經常性股息，直接使我們的股東受益。

While it's certainly a period of near to midterm macro volatility, it is also one of the most exciting periods for Opera as a company with the emergence of new technologies, and developments of new ways to better serve and engage with Internet users. So we'll do our best to fire on all cylinders as the year progresses and look forward to keeping you posted. So that's it for me, and I'll turn the call back over to the operator for questions.

雖然這肯定是一個接近中期宏觀波動的時期，但對於Opera 作為一家公司來說，這也是最激動人心的時期之一，新技術不斷湧現，新方法不斷發展，以更好地服務和吸引互聯網用戶。因此，隨著時間的推移，我們將盡最大努力全力以赴，並期待著向您通報最新情況。這就是我的任務，我會將電話轉回給接線員詢問問題。

(Operator Instructions) We'll take our first question from Mark Argento with Lake Street.

（操作員說明）我們將回答 Lake Street 的 Mark Argento 提出的第一個問題。

Just wanted to drill down a little bit on your expectations for kind of ARPU growth going forward. It looks like it was up a little bit here in the quarter and you continue to kind of increase your exposure to the western markets. Is that a sustainable trend? What kind of -- what do you guys -- how do you think about strategically about ARPU growth in terms of your overall strategy, trying to get more exposure to west.

只是想深入了解一下您對未來 ARPU 增長的預期。看起來本季度有所上升，並且您繼續增加對西方市場的投資。這是一個可持續的趨勢嗎？就你們的整體戰略而言，你們如何戰略性地考慮 ARPU 增長，試圖更多地接觸西方。

Mark, thanks. I can begin in terms of our guidance. We continue to build in the trend of ARPU growth. We see our momentum in western markets and our growth there is happening actually across PC, GX and mobile products. So that's an important driver for us. And in addition, we have GX, which is indeed a success story, but I think it's still under-indexing on advertising relative to our classic PC browsers. It's just newer in its development. So we do see headroom there.

馬克，謝謝。我可以從我們的指導開始。我們繼續順應 ARPU 增長趨勢。我們看到了我們在西方市場的勢頭，並且我們的增長實際上發生在 PC、GX 和移動產品上。所以這對我們來說是一個重要的驅動力。此外，我們還有 GX，這確實是一個成功的故事，但我認為相對於我們的經典 PC 瀏覽器，它的廣告索引仍然不足。它只是發展較新。所以我們確實看到了空間。

Great. And then in terms of the relaunch of Opera One and the AI, some of the embedded AI tools. Any trends you're seeing? Are you getting some decent adoption, utilization of those tools? What's your goal, I guess, for that product and the opportunity to kind of mainstream that browser or the browser set?

偉大的。然後是 Opera One 和人工智能的重新推出，一些嵌入式人工智能工具。您看到什麼趨勢了嗎？您是否對這些工具進行了適當的採用和利用？我想，您對該產品的目標是什麼，以及將該瀏覽器或瀏覽器集納入主流的機會是什麼？

Yes, It's Song Lin here, I'll try to answer. So yes, I think as I mentioned, we are quite -- I mean, it's still early stage, but it is very encouraging for what we see, more like among the users who have been using it. We have seen that there are actually very interesting because we know that discussions about what the impact is going to be to the whole industry and user behavior level. So -- but we see this even from other stages are that before we actually introduce AI and afterwards, even for the same group of users, they are very nice upward turnings of the both the user engagement, time spent and even search queries among others, right? So all the numbers are lifting. And we think it makes sense because more like -- because it actually enables users to interact with AI and computer in a more natural way and in turn, of course, bring more exposure to all the informations.

是的，我是宋琳，我盡力回答一下。所以，是的，我認為正如我所提到的，我們相當- 我的意思是，它仍處於早期階段，但對於我們所看到的情況來說，這是非常令人鼓舞的，更像是在一直使用它的用戶中。我們已經看到，這實際上非常有趣，因為我們知道關於將對整個行業和用戶行為層面產生什麼影響的討論。所以，但我們甚至從其他階段也看到這一點，在我們真正引入人工智能之前和之後，即使對於同一組用戶，用戶參與度、花費的時間甚至搜索查詢等方面都出現了非常好的上升趨勢， 正確的？所以所有的數字都在上升。我們認為這是有道理的，因為它實際上使用戶能夠以更自然的方式與人工智能和計算機進行交互，當然，反過來，也可以更多地接觸所有信息。

And this is, of course, very relevant for us as a browser because at the end of the day, browser is a gateway, allow you to discover more information. And if AI can actually help that, it's very natural that you guys have to spend more time line, so we are very positive. And the other major, I would say, interesting factor, of course, is that is also a major differentiating part because what we saw is also that is actually -- whereas Opera One for instance, it's a very good tool to use it as a way to getting new users because now people also see that there are clearly more differentiation between Opera and Opera One with the preinstalled browsers on the PC, which is, of course, a very positive mega trend that people begin to get it more that the browser can actually play a difference and especially with AI. So all those are playing a very positive factor. But again, it's still early stage. So I think we'll see how this develops, and we will roll out probably more of the iterations of the AI just to make sure we are moving even faster.

當然，這對於我們作為瀏覽器來說非常相關，因為歸根結底，瀏覽器是一個網關，可以讓您發現更多信息。如果人工智能確實可以幫助實現這一點，那麼很自然，你們必須花費更多的時間，所以我們非常積極。我想說，另一個主要的、有趣的因素當然是，這也是一個主要的差異化部分，因為我們看到的實際上也是——而例如Opera One，它是一個非常好的工具，可以將其用作這是獲得新用戶的一種方式，因為現在人們還發現，PC 上預裝瀏覽器的Opera 和Opera One 之間明顯存在更多差異，這當然是一個非常積極的大趨勢，人們開始更多地了解它而不是瀏覽器實際上可以發揮作用，尤其是在人工智能方面。所以所有這些都發揮著非常積極的作用。但同樣，現在還處於早期階段。所以我想我們會看看它是如何發展的，我們可能會推出更多的人工智能迭代，以確保我們進展得更快。

That's helpful. And then one more, just kind of housekeeping question for Frode. In terms of the dividend, you guys are instituting a recurring dividend, the first installment, the first $0.40 dividend you guys are netting that against the receivable, but then going forward, is it a full $0.40 dividend? Or maybe just walk us through that.

這很有幫助。還有一個問題要問弗羅德。就股息而言，你們正在實行經常性股息，第一期分期付款，第一筆0.40 美元的股息，你們將其從應收賬款中扣除，但接下來，這是全額0.40 美元的股息嗎？或者也許只是引導我們完成這個過程。

Yes. I think the Star X receivable was about $57 million before this dividend. Just as a reminder, we sold Star X, our stake in Star X to Kunlun, which is also the biggest shareholder in Opera and that is why we use the offsetting mechanism. So the first dividend that as a pre-IPO shareholder, their part of it would have been $25 million. And so that reduced the Star X receivable to about $32 million at the end of the quarter. And we'll see -- continue to see at $0.40 per dividend issuance. So you'll see about a $25 million reduction in that until it has been consumed. So it will last us into about mid-2024.

是的。我認為在此次股息之前，Star X 應收賬款約為 5700 萬美元。提醒一下，我們將 Star X 的股份出售給了崑崙萬維，崑崙萬維也是 Opera 的最大股東，這就是我們使用抵消機制的原因。因此，作為首次公開募股前的股東，他們的第一筆股息將是 2500 萬美元。因此，截至本季度末，Star X 應收賬款減少至約 3200 萬美元。我們將會看到——繼續看到每次股息發行 0.40 美元。因此，在消耗完之前，您會看到大約減少了 2500 萬美元。所以它會持續到 2024 年中期左右。

Got it. All right. That's helpful. And then just last -- I know you carry it on the balance sheet as available for sale, I think, is a classification. Any additional thoughts on that asset at that stage and any kind of new valuation marks? When you guys think about what that business is worth? And more importantly, what do you do with that stake long term?

知道了。好的。這很有幫助。最後——我知道你把它記在資產負債表上，作為可供出售，我認為，這是一個分類。對該資產在該階段的任何其他想法以及任何新的估值標記有什麼其他想法嗎？當你們想到這項業務值多少錢時？更重要的是，從長遠來看，您將如何處理這些股份？

Yes. For the first half, we had another look at it. In general, we felt comfortable with the valuation that we set back in March, I believe, for year end '22. I think the company is doing well and it's proceeding. We're not in a rush to sell it per se. But if there is an interested buyer, we also no longer really play a strategic role for OPay in its operations. I think our role was more important in the early days as a founding member of the company. So then in terms of just our own simplification would be happy to sell it at the right price.

是的。對於上半場，我們重新審視了它。總的來說，我們對 3 月份設定的 22 年底估值感到滿意。我認為公司做得很好並且正在繼續進行。我們並不急於出售它本身。但如果有感興趣的買家，我們也不再真正在 OPay 的運營中發揮戰略作用。我認為，作為公司的創始成員，我們的角色在早期更為重要。因此，就我們自己的簡化而言，我們很樂意以合適的價格出售它。

And we will take our next question from Lance Vitanza with TD Cowen.

我們將接受 TD Cowen 的蘭斯·維坦扎 (Lance Vitanza) 提出的下一個問題。

And nice quarter. I have two questions. I guess the first is back on the idea of how much headroom you think you have in this transition into the western markets, which obviously is fueling the rapid growth that we've seen. So if I do the math right, it looks like you've got about 47 million users in the western markets, just 15% of the $316 million user base that you reported in the press release. So that works out to about rough numbers an estimated 8% penetration if I just divide that 47 million by the total population of the Western markets.

和美好的季度。我有兩個問題。我想第一個問題是你認為在向西方市場的過渡中有多少發展空間，這顯然正在推動我們所看到的快速增長。因此，如果我計算正確的話，您在西方市場大約擁有 4700 萬用戶，僅佔您在新聞稿中報告的 3.16 億美元用戶群的 15%。因此，如果我將這 4700 萬除以西方市場的總人口，粗略估計滲透率約為 8%。

So I'm wondering, I imagine Opera, its goal isn't to be a real mass channel brand, but do you think that, where do we think that, that penetration rate could conceivably go over time? I mean is there an opportunity to double that to 16%? Or -- is that too aggressive or too conservative? How should we be thinking about where this could go over the longer term?

所以我想知道，我想 Opera，它的目標不是成為一個真正的大眾渠道品牌，但你認為，我們認為，隨著時間的推移，滲透率可以想像到哪裡？我的意思是有機會將其翻倍至 16% 嗎？或者——這是否太激進或太保守？我們應該如何思考長期來看這會走向何方？

Yes. So yes, it's Song Lin, I'll comment on it and Frode can add to that. So no, I think you are right that I think it's functioning more like -- it's in a way, right? So possible, of course, Opera as really one of the biggest European brands, it's just the fact that we have such a huge user base, right? So which is positive as the total MAU, like not so many companies actually like us but so many who does. But I think you're also right that even though we have been growing and we have a big user base even in western world, it's still only 13%, right? So we feel that -- I agree with you that we feel there are still a lot of -- we do have to and very early stage of penetration, both for GX, for instance, which is always very high ARPU users wherever they are in, more like in other markets gamer are always very high ARPU. So we are very excited about this.

是的。是的，是宋林，我會對此發表評論，弗羅德可以補充。所以不，我認為你是對的，我認為它的功能更像是——在某種程度上，對吧？當然，Opera 作為歐洲最大的品牌之一是有可能的，我們擁有如此龐大的用戶群，對嗎？因此，這對於總月活躍用戶來說是積極的，就像沒有多少公司真正喜歡我們，但有很多公司喜歡我們一樣。但我認為你也是對的，儘管我們一直在增長，即使在西方世界我們也擁有很大的用戶群，但它仍然只有 13%，對嗎？因此，我們認為——我同意你的觀點，我們認為仍然有很多——我們確實必須這樣做，並且處於非常早期的滲透階段，例如 GX，無論他們身在何處，ARPU 用戶總是非常高。 ，就像在其他市場一樣，遊戲玩家的ARPU 總是非常高。所以我們對此感到非常興奮。

We think it's on the very beginning stage and also for products like Opera One followed by AI, for instance, it's a very, like again, that tailored for a very specific user base. And again, it's also in early stage. So -- so I think, yes, we still have a lot of room to grow. And the other comment, I guess, is just that, of course, be aware that even if those -- we still have a huge amount of users which are not in the area categorized by, let's say, western market, but of course, they are also have lots of potential, especially with AI, both for potential ARPU lifts and also for potentially that market is also evolving, right? So I would also say we are in a very nice mix of both we still have a lot of room to grow for the western market, we're still very early stage. But we are also in a very good position that with those emerging markets users mature we can also capture the right part of it. So I think from both ends, we are quite optimistic on this. And that's also why I think our #1 focus is still to keep evolving our product and get more users because in the end, that is always the key and provide all the basis.

我們認為這還處於起步階段，對於像 Opera One 這樣的產品以及隨後的人工智能產品來說也是如此，例如，它是一個非常類似的產品，是為非常特定的用戶群量身定制的。再說一次，它也處於早期階段。所以——所以我認為，是的，我們還有很大的成長空間。我想，另一條評論就是，當然，請注意，即使我們仍然擁有大量用戶，這些用戶不屬於西方市場分類的區域，但是當然，他們也有很大的潛力，特別是在人工智能方面，既可以提高潛在的ARPU，也可以讓市場不斷發展，對嗎？所以我還要說，我們處於一個非常好的組合，我們在西方市場仍然有很大的增長空間，我們仍處於非常早期的階段。但我們也處於一個非常有利的位置，隨著新興市場用戶的成熟，我們也可以抓住其中正確的部分。所以我認為從兩端來看，我們對此都非常樂觀。這也是為什麼我認為我們的第一重點仍然是不斷發展我們的產品並獲得更多用戶，因為最終，這始終是關鍵並提供所有基礎。

Great. And then a couple of other questions, if I may. The next one is on the cash position, which at $98 million that came in a little bit better than our I think we were looking for $90 million. And so I'm just wondering, I know you mentioned there were no share repurchases. So that was part of the delta. I think we still -- we were still expecting maybe a couple of share repurchases in the quarter. But was there any other onetime items that sort of favorably added to your cash position in the quarter? Anything there that's worth calling out?

偉大的。如果可以的話，還有其他幾個問題。下一個是現金頭寸，為 9800 萬美元，比我們預期的 9000 萬美元要好一些。所以我只是想知道，我知道你提到沒有股票回購。所以那是三角洲的一部分。我認為我們仍然 - 我們仍然預計本季度可能會進行幾次股票回購。但是，還有其他一次性項目可以有利地增加您本季度的現金頭寸嗎？有什麼值得一提的嗎？

No, I would say the cash flow of the quarter was actually very straightforward. We sort of increase in AR and AP offsetting one another. Q2 and Q4 will be the same. Those are the taxpaying quarters. So there's a tax component in there, meaning that actually the conversion from adjusted EBITDA to cash flow is best in Q1 and Q3. So I think it followed our internal expectations. Keep in mind that the dividend that was issued in June was payable in July. So that $11 million is still included in the cash on June 30.

不，我想說本季度的現金流實際上非常簡單。 AR 和 AP 的增加有點相互抵消。 Q2 和 Q4 將相同。這些是納稅區。因此，其中存在稅收成分，這意味著實際上從調整後 EBITDA 到現金流的轉換在第一季度和第三季度是最好的。所以我認為這符合我們的內部期望。請記住，六月份發放的股息應在七月份支付。因此 6 月 30 日現金中仍包含 1100 萬美元。

Okay. I had one other question. In the press release, it mentioned something on the noncash comp that I couldn't quite follow. Share-based remuneration includes grants made by Opera's majority shareholder -- made by Opera's majority shareholders. I wasn't quite sure what that meant. And it goes on to say that it represents an expense even though Opera has no obligation in connection with these grants and that they do not represent dilution for Opera's shareholders. I'm not sure that I've seen that before. Can you expand upon that for a minute?

好的。我還有一個問題。在新聞稿中，它提到了一些關於非現金補償的內容，但我不太明白。基於股份的薪酬包括 Opera 大股東提供的贈款。我不太確定那是什麼意思。它接著說，儘管 Opera 沒有與這些贈款相關的義務，但它仍然是一項開支，而且它們並不代表 Opera 股東的稀釋。我不確定我以前是否見過這個。您能詳細說明一下嗎？

Yes, sure, I'll do that. So Kunlun as the biggest Opera shareholder has issued grants in Kunlun, and they consolidate Opera holding more than 50% to some of our staff members. Opera has no expense with that. Once those grants vest and become exercise, they will not lead to any dilution for Opera shareholders. But at least in IFRS, which we present according to we are supposed to reflect the fair value of the grants that are awarded to Opera's employees, even though it has no practical implication for us.

是的，當然，我會這麼做。所以崑崙作為Opera最大的股東，給崑崙發了贈款，他們把Opera持股50%以上的股份合併到了我們的一些員工身上。 Opera 對此沒有任何費用。一旦這些贈款歸屬並行使，它們將不會導致 Opera 股東的股權被稀釋。但至少在《國際財務報告準則》中，我們根據其表述應該反映授予 Opera 員工的補助金的公允價值，儘管它對我們沒有實際意義。

Okay. Interesting. And then last question for me, if I'm looking at it -- so the guidance for the third quarter, the 15% revenue growth at the midpoint, that checks out, but then the EBITDA at around $19 million to $21 million. Didn't you report a little bit, I think EBITDA in the third quarter of '22 was $21 million. Is that right? And so I'm just trying to figure out, 15% growth, EBITDA is not really scaling, so was there something -- remind me, was there some sort of onetime good guy in the 3Q '22 numbers that we need to be sort of backing out of our math when we think about the year-on-year EBITDA comp?

好的。有趣的。然後是我的最後一個問題，如果我仔細觀察的話，第三季度的指導，即中點 15% 的收入增長，是正確的，但 EBITDA 約為 1900 萬至 2100 萬美元。你沒有報導一下嗎，我認為22年第三季度的EBITDA是2100萬美元。是對的嗎？所以我只是想弄清楚，15% 的增長，EBITDA 並沒有真正擴大，那麼是否有一些東西 - 提醒我，在 22 年第三季度的數字中是否有一些曾經的好人需要我們進行排序當我們考慮同比EBITDA 比較時，是否會放棄我們的數學計算？

I think the key thing is to look at our communication around expenses. And the biggest factor that changes throughout the year is when and how we spend our marketing dollars. So we have sort of maintained our expectation for our total spend and always communicated that it would be most or we would increase it in second half relative to first half, simply because of our scaling on GX and how that evolves and the launch of Opera One and sort of having that out in the market and learning the lessons before we take out the full potential on the marketing. So I would almost say the opposite that, I mean, we are increasing our adjusted EBITDA expectations quite meaningfully after the strong Q2 relative to what we had guided for the year before. So we actually feel very good about it. It's just a conscious decision about when in the year we spend the marketing and when we think we get the best return on that spend.

我認為關鍵是看我們圍繞費用的溝通。全年變化的最大因素是我們何時以及如何花費營銷資金。因此，我們對總支出保持了一定的預期，並且總是表示，相對於上半年，這將是最多的，或者我們會在下半年增加支出，這僅僅是因為我們在GX 上的擴展以及它的發展方式以及Opera One 的推出在我們充分發揮營銷潛力之前，將其投放市場並吸取教訓。因此，我幾乎想說相反的話，我的意思是，在第二季度強勁之後，相對於我們前一年的指導，我們正在非常有意義地提高調整後的 EBITDA 預期。所以我們實際上對此感覺非常好。這只是一個有意識的決定，即我們在一年中何時進行營銷，以及何時我們認為我們能從該支出中獲得最佳回報。

May be I'll add a little bit more. Same as Frode but on a positive note is also that, it's almost like we are almost calling well ahead of our guidance in the first half that we feel then, of course, if you want, we can have more user right of building up more user base because, of course, in the end of the day, that's well yield, even more revenue and profit in the future. So that's -- I think that's what we based on our guidance. But then, of course, at the end of the day, it is always reflective of -- what's the ROI profile and how we actually assist as well benefit from us in the long run but it's nice to actually be able to have that room.

也許我會再補充一點。與弗羅德相同，但積極的一面是，這幾乎就像我們幾乎在上半年的指導之前就打電話，我們覺得，當然，如果你願意，我們可以擁有更多的用戶權利來建立更多用戶群，因為當然，歸根結底，這會帶來很好的收益，甚至未來會有更多的收入和利潤。這就是——我認為這就是我們基於我們指導的內容。但是，當然，歸根結底，它總是反映出——投資回報率概況是什麼，以及我們如何實際提供幫助以及從長遠來看從我們中受益，但實際上能夠擁有這個空間真是太好了。

Understood. Yes. And I guess then just to sort of put a final point on this, are you seeing anything that would make you feel that the sort of the longer-term EBITDA margin targets are under any pressure?

明白了。是的。我想最後一點是，您是否看到任何讓您感到長期 EBITDA 利潤率目標面臨壓力的情況？

No, I think this is progressing well according to expectations and sort of we feel comfortable about the level that we operate on.

不，我認為這按照預期進展順利，我們對我們的運營水平感到滿意。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question from Alicia Yap with Citigroup.

（操作員指示）我們的下一個問題來自花旗集團的 Alicia Yap。

This is Katrina (inaudible) from Citigroup asking on behalf of Alicia Yap. I have two questions. First, would management be able to provide some color on what level of incremental revenue opportunities we could expect to see coming out from our embedded AI feature in Opera browser in the next 12 to 18 months.

我是花旗集團的 Katrina（聽不清），代表 Alicia Yap 詢問。我有兩個問題。首先，管理層是否能夠提供一些信息，說明我們預計在未來 12 到 18 個月內，Opera 瀏覽器中的嵌入式人工智能功能將帶來何種程度的增量收入機會。

Second, are there any additional investments we expect to incur as related to the AI that will have some pressure in expenses and how will that be affecting our EBITDA trend going forward, if any?

其次，我們預計是否會進行與人工智能相關的任何額外投資，從而帶來一定的費用壓力？如果有的話，這將如何影響我們未來的 EBITDA 趨勢？

Yes, sure. Sure. Yes, it's only, I think I'll just take that one and then Frode can also comment and add on any follow-ups. So Yes. I think like, again, the whole industry is still at very early stage, right? So it's almost a billion dollar question. But I think from what way observed -- like again. So as a tech company, it is a very -- both as a tech company, but also as almost entry point to the whole web, right? We feel that the very others use of the AI is just that it allows people to have access to more information in a more convenient way in general. And that we see directly translates to higher time spend and also more let's say, high ARPU events that we see. So I guess it's a function of just because they can -- it's easy for them to get accurate information and they start to consume it. So that has already been evident in the current users already that we have. We are very optimistic. So that is why that we baking already, right?

是的，當然。當然。是的，只是，我想我就拿那個，然後弗羅德也可以發表評論並添加任何後續內容。所以是的。我想，整個行業仍處於非常早期的階段，對吧？所以這幾乎是一個價值十億美元的問題。但我想從什麼方式觀察——就像又一樣。因此，作為一家科技公司，它既是一家科技公司，也是整個網絡的幾乎入口點，對吧？我們認為人工智能的其他用途只是它讓人們能夠以更方便的方式獲取更多信息。我們看到的直接轉化為更高的時間花費，以及我們看到的更多的高 ARPU 事件。所以我想這只是因為他們可以——他們很容易獲得準確的信息並開始使用它。因此，這一點在我們現有的用戶中已經很明顯了。我們非常樂觀。這就是我們已經烘烤的原因，對吧？

And then the other path, as I mentioned, is also bit that it also actually helps open up Opera in particular. So the fourth, I would say, is almost a bit industrial-wise, especially to want someone which is in our industry like a browser as entry. And then I guess the second benefit is more towards to Opera in particular because, of course, being a third party browser we're always trying to differentiate it. And now we just saw that with the coming of AI, we are, of course, the one of the browsers which are provides a native differentiating AI product for free to all the users. So that we see is very attractive and that we see that has already is very attractive in marketing and user acquisition and the further making user feel that browser is actually a very differentiating product. So that is very helpful for the new user acquisition.

然後，正如我提到的，另一條道路也確實有助於開放 Opera。因此，我想說，第四個幾乎有點工業明智，特別是希望我們行業中的某個人（例如瀏覽器）作為入口。然後我想第二個好處更適合 Opera，因為當然，作為第三方瀏覽器，我們總是試圖使其與眾不同。現在我們剛剛看到，隨著人工智能的到來，我們當然是向所有用戶免費提供原生差異化人工智能產品的瀏覽器之一。所以我們看到它非常有吸引力，並且我們看到它在營銷和用戶獲取方面已經非常有吸引力，並且進一步讓用戶覺得瀏覽器實際上是一個非常差異化的產品。所以這對於新用戶的獲取非常有幫助。

And in comparison, for instance, we see that it's almost -- we're talking about maybe like -- maybe more a onetime difference of user engagement if user actually coming from the channel well, they actually see AI and come to us, right? It's much more active, almost a time difference between the user which come from normal channels. So that, of course, is very helpful and that is also well quite optimistic about development of Opera One. So I think those 2 factors for now are the major ones which is benefiting and make us wanting to spend more time also on integrating more AI products because there are a lot of potential to be gained from it, and we are quite positive about it.

相比之下，例如，我們看到它幾乎——我們正在談論的可能是——也許更多的是用戶參與度的一次性差異，如果用戶實際上來自渠道，他們實際上看到了人工智能並來到我們這裡，對吧？它更加活躍，幾乎與來自正常渠道的用戶之間存在時間差。當然，這非常有幫助，而且對 Opera One 的發展也非常樂觀。因此，我認為這兩個因素目前是受益的主要因素，並使我們願意花更多時間來集成更多人工智能產品，因為從中可以獲得很大的潛力，而且我們對此非常樂觀。

But you're also right that there are also a cost factor related with it. So it's like, again, still very early stage. So yes, I think we're aware that there will always be cost factors in association. For now, it's still a very small percent, especially in comparison to say marketing cost. So it's still very net positive for us. But in the future, I think that is why we are working now already with some of the partners on potentially monetization because in (inaudible), of course, it's very nice to be able to associate monetization with it. I think that's also what we also mentioned a bit about we are not already trying to embed in many interesting links and many interesting information, which potentially monetize information on it and the on source of AI, which can, of course, directly leads to good monetization to compensate for potential cost of it. So for now, the model works, but again, it's still early stage, and we just need to work with our partners to further tune that to see how -- what kind of opportunity we can create. But I think we are standing positive about how this can grow, especially to company like us.

但你也說得對，還有與之相關的成本因素。所以，這仍然處於非常早期的階段。所以，是的，我認為我們知道總會存在相關的成本因素。目前，它仍然只佔很小的百分比，特別是與營銷成本相比。所以這對我們來說仍然是非常積極的。但在未來，我認為這就是為什麼我們現在已經與一些合作夥伴就潛在的貨幣化進行合作，因為（聽不清），當然，能夠將貨幣化與它聯繫起來是非常好的。我認為這也是我們還提到的一點，我們還沒有嘗試嵌入許多有趣的鏈接和許多有趣的信息，這些鏈接和信息有可能將其上的信息和人工智能的來源貨幣化，這當然可以直接帶來好的結果。貨幣化以補償其潛在成本。因此，目前該模型是有效的，但同樣，它仍處於早期階段，我們只需要與我們的合作夥伴合作，進一步調整該模型，看看我們可以如何創造什麼樣的機會。但我認為我們對如何發展持積極態度，特別是對於像我們這樣的公司。

It appears, we have no further questions on the line at this time. I will turn the program back over to Song Lin for any additional or closing remarks.

看來，我們目前沒有進一步的問題。我會將節目轉回給宋林，以供補充或結束語。

Yes. So like, again, as said, that -- I'll just wrap it up with thank you for all the continued support and interest in Opera. We are very encouraged by the early response to Aria and Opera One and what's more to come and also the success of Opera GX and opportunities of verticals more broadly and how we have been able to attract valuable users and scale our monetization. We appreciate your time, and we look forward to speaking with you again in the future.

是的。正如我所說的，我將再次感謝大家對 Opera 的持續支持和興趣。我們對Aria 和Opera One 的早期反應以及即將推出的更多內容感到非常鼓舞，也對Opera GX 的成功和更廣泛的垂直領域的機會以及我們如何能夠吸引有價值的用戶並擴大我們的貨幣化規模感到非常鼓舞。感謝您抽出寶貴的時間，我們期待將來再次與您交談。

This does conclude today's program. Thank you for your participation. You may disconnect at any time, and have a wonderful day.

今天的節目到此結束。感謝您的參與。您可以隨時斷開連接，祝您度過美好的一天。