Korean startup Spoon Radio Inc has shared its business results for the first three quarters of the year, registering a profit for nine consecutive months from January to September.

The company earned 34 billion KRW ($23 million) in gross revenue and had an increase in operating profit of more than 23 billion won ($16 million) compared to 2021.

Spoon is a social digital audio live streaming service which allows users to listen to streamers and even start their own live streams using their smartphones and web, without any other equipment. It provides services in four languages, including South Korea, the United States, Japan, and Middle Eastern and North African regions. It has an average of 1 million monthly users as of September 2022.

Its growth has been helped by a steady increase in monthly in-app purchases and a rise in the number of high-income DJs in Japan.

The company recently shifted its strategy from that of aggressive marketing until last year to strengthening profitability this year.

The main driver of its earnings growth this time is securing high-income DJs. Compared to last year, the number of high-income DJs increased by more than 20 percent, from 840 to 1,030.

In addition, it has focused on countries with high potential through selection and concentration in the global market. As a result, about half of the current total users are Japanese users. The payment amount in Japan is also increasing steadily enough to account for more than 50% of the total payment amount.

Choi Hyuk-jae, CEO of Spoon Radio, said: “This achievement is meaningful in that it proved that it could break away from the so-called deficit growth strategy of the past, which prioritized aggressive marketing costs and created operating profit. We plan to focus on growing together, improving the quality of content, and growing sales.”