Maoyan, China's largest mobile ticketing platform, which is controlled by Beijing-based television and film company Enlight Media, expects to turn a profit this year and has plans to pursue an initial public offering, Enlight Media's founder and chairman Wang Changtian said over the weekend.
Wang made the comment while attending the Shanghai International Film Festival. Maoyan recorded a loss last year, but will become profitable this year, he said. Companies are required to achieve a level of profitability over a three-year period before they can apply to list on the main boards of China's domestic stock exchanges.
Maoyan was launched by Chinese on-demand local services firm Meituan in 2012 as one of the earliest mobile ticketing firms in the country. Meituan spun off the unit in April 2016 as an independent company. One month later, Shenzhen-listed Enlight media acquired a 57.4% stake in Maoyan for RMB2.38 billion in cash and 6% of its shares.
As a first mover in mobile ticketing, Maoyan has been the dominant player in the space, but has faced increasing competition from platforms backed by Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings in recent years.
During the first two months of 2017, Maoyan held a 33% market share, while Alibaba's Taopiaopiao and Tencent's Weipiao had 30% and 16% shares respectively, according to data shared by Taopiaopiao. Maoyan's market share was as high as 70% during the first two years in operation.
Since buying a controlling stake in Maoyan, Enlight Media's film production and distribution arm has supported Maoyan with its own film marketing resources.
Maoyan recorded total transaction value of RMB6 billion during the first half of 2015, surpassing the total transaction value in 2014, according to the most recent financial numbers available. But after a record-setting year in 2015, China's box office sales grew only slightly last year.
Maoyan's services cover over 4,000 cinemas that account for over 90% of box office sales in China as of 2015, according to the latest numbers available from Chinese media reports.