TikTok’s 2023 revenue rises 75% in Europe, UK and other markets outside the US, Asia

ByteDance-owned TikTok attributed that increase to its growing user base, improved ad performance and greater live-streaming revenue

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TikTok is currently facing increased scrutiny in the European Union. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 8:30pm, 15 Oct 2024

ByteDance-owned international short video-platform TikTok has reported total revenue of US$4.6 billion in 2023, an increase of nearly 75 per cent from a year earlier, in markets excluding the United States, Asia and Oceania.

TikTok, which has more than 1 billion users worldwide, attributed that rise to “the continued growth of [its] user base”, “enhanced monetisation tools to improve advertisers’ experience and ad performance”, and significantly greater “live-streaming revenue”, according to a filing last week by TikTok Information Technologies UK to the Companies House, the British government agency that maintains the register of companies.

The platform’s operating loss, however, widened 167 per cent to US$1.4 billion. The firm’s UK unit and its subsidiaries operate the popular app across countries in Europe, South and Central America, and Africa.

Its operating loss margin of 30 per cent last year, up from 20 per cent in 2022, was primarily attributed to “one-off provisions of legal and related matters” that cost more than US$1 billion.

The United Kingdom is one of TikTok’s major markets outside the United States. Photo: EPA-EFE

The unit did not provide a geographical breakdown of its 2023 revenue. A 2022 disclosure previously showed the European Union contributed 57 per cent of revenue, followed by the United Kingdom with 22 per cent.

The firm said it set aside more than US$1 billion by the end of last year as provisions for “legal and related matters”. The unit said it also prepared for “potential liabilities arising from various ongoing regulatory compliance investigations or decisions made by relevant regulators”.