Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Q3 2023 Kingsoft Corporation Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star one one on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I will now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, IR Director, Francie Liu. Please go ahead.
Thank you, operator. Ladies and gentlemen, good evening and good morning. I would like to welcome everyone to our 2023 third quarter results earnings call. I'm Francie Liu, the IR Director of Kingsoft. I would like to start by reminding you that some information provided during the earnings call may include forward-looking statements, which may not be relied upon in the future for various reasons. These forward-looking statements are based on our own information and information from other sources, which we believe to be reliable. Please refer to the other publicly disclosed documents for a detailed discussion on risk factors, which may affect our business and operations. Having said that, please allow me to introduce our management team who joined us today. Mr. Zou Tao, our Executive Director and CEO, and Ms. Li Yi, our Acting CFO. Now I'm turning the call to Mr. Zou. Zou.
大家好。第三季度，我们的核心业务稳定发展。金山办公集团围绕AI和协作战略重点，进一步提升产品在AI领域的服务能力。网络游戏业务持续迭代和升级自研精品游戏。第三季度，本集团的财务业绩保持稳定，总收益为人民币20.6亿元，同比增长12%，主要由于剑网3稳步增长，以及金山办公集团个人和机构订阅业务持续增长，营运溢利为人民币3.76亿元，同比增长13%。
Okay, I'll translate for Mr. Zou. In the third quarter, our core businesses have made steady progress. Focusing on the priority strategies of AI and collaboration, Kingsoft Office Group continuously optimized the AI performance of products. Online game business continued to iterate and upgrade self-developed premium games. In the third quarter, the group maintained stable financial performance. The total revenue was CNY 2,060 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 12%, mainly due to the steady growth of JX Online 3 and the sustainable growth in subscription businesses of both individual and institutions from Kingsoft Office Group. The operating profit was CNY 376 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 13%. Now I will turn the call to Ms. Li Yi, our Acting CFO.
Thank you, Francie. Good evening, everyone. In the third quarter, for individual office subscription business, Kingsoft Office Group optimized its membership system, improved user experience across its products, and achieved steady increases in both the paying ratio and average revenue per paying user. To enhance the AI performance of our products, we invested in independent development of small and medium-sized models. We have reached strategic cooperation with Alibaba Group and Aster Life Tech to jointly build a digital and intelligent service ecosystem. Regarding institutional subscription business, we actively promoted cloud integration and collaborative office programs for government and enterprises, and developed high-quality digital office solutions to assist them in their digital transformation. Through WPS 365, we continued to facilitate customers' adoption of cloud and collaborative applications, and made a significant progress in expanding our user base in micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.
In order to strengthen regional service construction, we organized a series of digital office activities in cities in China, such as Suzhou, Guangzhou, and Harbin, and continuously expanded our penetration in multiple industries, including energy, education, and finance. In the third quarter, JX3 Online updated constantly and sustained a good atmosphere in the player community. In August, JX3 Online celebrated its fourteenth anniversary with the players. In October, it launched a beta test with ultimate graphics quality and a new expansion pack, ensuring the ongoing success of the IP. World of Sword: Origin was released in China in September and received recognition from players. This mobile game was transformed from a PC game through optimizing and upgrading the graphics and gameplay details, while maintaining traditional 2D graphics and classical gameplay. We also optimized our main game, Snowbreak: Containment Zone, on an ongoing basis.
Looking forward, the mobile version of JX3 Ultimate has received the license approval and expected to be launched in the first half of next year... to achieve accessibility through all platforms. I'll now discuss the Q3 operational and financial results, use RMB as currency. Revenue increased 12% year-on-year and decreased 6% quarter-on-quarter to CNY 2,060 million. The revenue split was 53% for office software and services, and 47% for online games and others. Revenue from office software and services business increased 9% year-on-year, and decreased 2% quarter-on-quarter to CNY 1,088 million. The year-on-year increase was mainly due to the growth of both domestic individual office subscription business and institutional subscription business of Kingsoft Office group, partially offset by the decrease in revenue from domestic institutional licensing business.
The steady growth of domestic individual office subscription business was primarily driven by the upgraded membership system and better user experience. The rapid growth of domestic institutional subscription business was mainly driven by continuous upgrades of digital office solutions and service quality, along with our ongoing efforts to promote cloud integration and collaborative office in government and enterprises. The decrease in domestic institutional license business was largely due to the reduction in new purchase orders on localization solutions. The slight quarter-on-quarter decrease was mainly due to the decline in institutional licensing business, partially offset by the sustainable growth of institutional subscription business. Revenue from the online games and others business increased 50% year-on-year and decreased 10% quarter-on-quarter to CNY 961 million.
The year-on-year increase was mainly due to revenue growth from JX3 Online and revenue contribution from Snowbreak: Containment Zone, launched in July, partially offset by decreased revenue from existing games. The quarter-on-quarter decrease was primarily attributed due to the decline in revenue from JX Online, which had a relatively high base in the second quarter. Cost of revenue increased 3% year-on-year and 6% quarter-on-quarter to CNY 383 million. The increases were mainly due to the increased personal related expenses, as well as higher server and bandwidth costs. Gross profit increased 40% year-on-year and decreased 8% quarter-on-quarter to CNY 1,677 million. Gross profit margin decreased by one percentage point year-on-year and decreased by three percentage points quarter-on-quarter to 81%. Research and development costs increased 5% year-on-year and 1% quarter-on-quarter to CNY 672 million.
Selling and distribution expenses increased 24% year-on-year and 47% quarter-on-quarter to CNY 441 million. The increases were largely due to the marketing campaign for newly launched games. Administrative expenses increased 20% year-on-year and 22% quarter-on-quarter to CNY 187 million. The increases were mainly due to increased personal related expenses. Share-based compensation costs increased 50% year-on-year and decreased 20% quarter-on-quarter to CNY 73 million. Operating profit before share-based compensation costs increased 14% year-on-year and decreased 41% quarter-on-quarter to CNY 449 million. Net other gains for the third quarter of 2023 were CNY 18 million, compared with losses of CNY 6,487 million and CNY 103 million for the third quarter of 2022, and the second quarter of 2023 respectively.
The losses in the third quarter of 2022 primarily resulted from the provision for impairment on the investment in Kingsoft Cloud. Share of losses of 207 million were recorded for the third quarter of 2023, compared with losses of CNY 414 million and CNY 323 million for the third quarter of 2022, and the second quarter of 2023, respectively. Income tax expense for the third quarter of 2023 was CNY 44 million, compared with income tax credit of CNY 589 million for the third quarter of 2022, and income tax expenses of CNY 78 million for the second quarter of 2023, respectively. The income tax credit for the third quarter of 2022 was mainly attributable to the deferred tax effect of the impairment provision recognized for Kingsoft Cloud.
As a result of the reasons discussed above, profit attributable to owners of the parent was CNY 28 million for the third quarter of 2023, compared with loss of CNY 6,055 million for the third quarter of 2022, and a profit of CNY 57 million for the second quarter of 2023, respectively. Profit attributable to owners of the parent, excluding share-based compensation cost was CNY 69 million for the third quarter of 2023, compared with loss of CNY 6,007 million for the third quarter of 2022, and a profit of CNY 123 million for the second quarter of 2023 respectively. The net profit or loss gain, excluding the share-based compensation cost, was 3%, -327%, and 6% for this quarter, the third quarter of 2022, and the second quarter of 2023 respectively.
The group had a strong cash position towards the end of the reporting period. As at September 30, 2023 , the group had cash resources of CNY 23 billion. Net cash used in operating activities was CNY 552 million for this quarter, and net cash generated from operating activities was CNY 288 million, and CNY 101,945 million for the third quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of 2023 respectively. Net cash flows used in operating activities in the third quarter of 2023 was mainly attributable to the payment of cash collected in the second quarter of 2023. Excluding this impact, net cash flows generated from operating activities was CNY 447 million.
Cash expenditures was CNY 160 million, CNY 106 million, and CNY 104 million for this quarter, the second quarter of 2023, and the same quarter of 2023 respectively. In the third quarter, we committed to refine and optimize our core products and services. Going forward, Kingsoft Office Group will continue to focus on AI and collaboration. We can structure office software to provide users with intelligent product experience. Meanwhile, online games business will continue to develop premium games and maintain long-term operations to better serve players. We will remain our focus on investing in the research and development of our core business to enhance our core competencies and achieve high quality and sustainable growth. Thank you. With that, I'll turn it over to Francie.
Thanks, Ms. Li and Sandra. We are ready for the Q&A session. Thank you.
Thank you. As a reminder, to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one and one again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. We will now take the first question. One moment, please. From the line of Xiaodan Zhang from CICC. Please go ahead.
Hey, 管理层晚上好，感谢接受我的提问。那我这边有两个问题请教一下。第一个是在游戏业务这边啊，我们看到今年前三个季度，其实剑网三端游的表现都非常的亮眼。啊，那我们十月底也开放了旗舰版的一个Beta画质的升级。那么在明年这个旗舰版正式上线之后，呃，想请教一下公司围绕这个老玩家在这个货币化的方面有什么样的计划？那管理层对于明年游戏业务整体的增长是否已经有一个初步的展望？啊，那第二个是在办公业务这一块。啊，那我们注意到，WPS AI 已经正式地开启了公测，啊，那么管理层对于WPS AI后续的一个商业化的路径是如何展望的？啊，那我快速地翻译一下我的问题。Thanks management for taking my questions.
First of all, the flagship JX Online 3 has delivered strong performance year to date, with quarterly gross billings reached record high. As the upgrade version is planned to launch officially in next April, so what are the commercialization plans we can think of at this time, especially targeting your existing players? Also, could you please share your preliminary views on next year's gaming business outlook? And secondly, WPS AI has released its public beta recently. So what do you think of the subsequent commercialization plans? Thank you.
好，谢谢小丹，我先回答一下啊。第一个是游戏这块，剑网三本身这个从...
应该说从2009年发布以来吧，包括这次这个画质再次升级，全平台旗舰版的这个测试，我们不会去改变整体的，这块游戏的收入模型吧，这个基本上，还是保持一个，就是，这就是一个整体公平的这种游戏环境，所以我们也不会去增加其他的这个影响平衡的这种道具，我们依然是采取这种增值服务的这种方式。所以说单从游戏本身来讲呢，对于老玩家，我们更多的是通过还是不断地丰富，不断地提升产品品质，丰富游戏的核心体验和玩法。...
对，然后通过这个，收取点卡的基本收费，加上外观啊等其他的增值服务，这个为核心的这个收入，所以这个是不会变的。当然会有，明年会有一个比较大的变化在哪？其实就是可能大家也注意到了，我们那个剑网三无界这个，移动端呢，已经拿到了版号，所以呢，我们预计会在明年的上半年会正式推出上线，这个是跟我们的PC版PC端是打通的。所以呢，其实从玩家侧来讲呢，其实就是说，可以通过这个移动端接入之后呢，会应该来讲就是会，加强整个剑网三整体的这个社区的这个活跃度，这是肯定会加强，以及利用碎片时间，参与到游戏当中来，也会提升整体的这个用户的在线时长。对，所以呢，我觉得这一个变化就是，可能我们自己预估啊，由于本身的社交黏度提升，用户的活跃度提高，其实某种程度呢，会，反而会，以我们的经验，会，会拉动这个，我们的其实一些外装啊，其他的一些增值服务的这个消费。对，但具体会有多大影响，可能还得等明年具体的这个上线的这个结果才能出来之后才能能够全面评估吧。对，所以剑网三呢，总体来讲其实就是这么一个去描述它，我们依然是以提升产品质量和丰富游戏玩法为核心，在收入结构上，这个应该说收费手段上不会有大的变化，好吧。然后咱们全年这个整个游戏本，全年本身的话，除了剑网三那个，手游版之外呢，我们明年还有...
当然，我们现在可能还不能，不方便正式对外公布它的名字啊，反正就是，就我们经典剑侠还会有新的作品出现，以及那个我们首款的这个面向全球的这个Code Break，就是那个机甲项目，明年也会去正式上线，好不好？然后对于整个明年全年的游戏的财务预期呢，我们自己内部还在做规划预算当中，最快的话要到十二月中旬我们才能出第一稿，所以暂时没办法给大家给出一个指引。OK，第二个问题是关于WPS AI后期的商业化路径，是吧？这块呢，因为办公的这个Q3财报发的时候呢，相信办公也对外说过，我们基本上会在十二月份开始进行付费测试。这块呢，我自己的判断，当然也有很多人关注我们如何定价。呃，在今天的这个董事会上呢，反正我们也跟办公做了个沟通，就最终的定价还没有最终明确。对，反正大体意向性的跟前几个Q讲的差不多。对，我们还是会分不同的，根据用户使用频次的不同，场景的不同，我们还是会分出不同的收费区间吧，好吧。所以总体来讲，时间表呢，也就是从十二月份开始，我们会陆续开始做付费测试，然后到明年整个这个Q1、Q2，根据整个的这个推理专区的建设，以及我们自己付费测试完的这个调整的计划，会陆续全面开放，好不好？然后从开放的内容来讲呢，我们首先会开放的AIGC部分已经是开放了，后面陆续还会围绕Copilot以及Insight的部分呢，我们也会陆续上线。对，嗯，这个十二月份开始吧，就陆续，好不好？然后也是，会是随着这个三大板块的逐渐成熟，以及推向市场之后，用户实际反馈，我们也还会针对这种具体商业化的，可能也会做出一些实际性的调整，好不好？这个，Ms.Liu翻译一下。
好的，周总。I'll translate for Mr. Zou. So for the first question regarding our game business, we have, we have not changed our monetization model for the JX Online 3, since its launch in 2009, and including the newly launched flagship of our platform testing version and its upgrade. So we still maintain our strategy to provide a fair gameplay for our users, our game players. And so our monetization model is unchanged, we will keep the point card model plus the value-added services.
We will continue to upgrade the game by providing better quality of the game to keep optimizing the game experience for our existing players. But the monetization model will keep unchanged, with the point cards and value-added services. A new thing that will happen next year is the JX3 ultimate version. This one we already got the license, so we are planning to release the game in the first half of next year. On this mobile version of the JX3 game is connected with our PC version, so we will have more users that will be able to enjoy the game, so we expect the total timing of the gameplay will increase next year. And we will have an improved and increased interaction thickness for the game. So through our experience, we expect that the value-added services will also improve with the increase in the interaction thickness. But we will eventually evaluate the improvement after the launch of the game next year...and also for the next year outlook for the game business. Other than the JX3 mobile version, we also have another game that will be launched next year under the JX series, but we're not ready to announce the exact name yet, but there will be a new game in the JX series. And also we have the new game Code : B.R.E.A.K., which will also be launched next year. The financial forecast for next year, the game of the game business is still under review, we will have our first version ready not until mid-December. So the financial forecast is still under review for the game business. The second question is regarding the WPS business and also its commercialization schedule. We will start the monetization testing for the WPS AI products in December. And a lot of people ask about the pricing strategy for the new products. We have communicated with the WPS team in the board meeting today, but the pricing strategy is not confirmed yet. In my point of view, we will use the differentiated pricing strategy for the products, which we will start the testing in December, and we'll continue to optimize in the first quarter and second quarter next year, and we will gradually open out the functions for the products to our users. The AIGC is already released, and we will continue to open the other Copilot and Insight functions to our users. And we will eventually set the pricing strategies through our testing in December, and also our user feedback in the first quarter and second quarter next year. Thank you. Sandra, we're ready for the next question.
One moment, please. We will now take the next question from the line of Daley Li from Bank of America Securities. Please go ahead.
各位观众朋友，晚上好，感谢接受我的提问。我这边，请教两个问题。第一个是关于咱们游戏的，今年游戏行业，看到更多版号出来，这个市场可能竞争相对多一些，想问一下，公司未来在这个PC、手游、端游这边的话，未来的策略有没有一些会做一些更新的，去应对这些情况？第二个问题想问一下，今年，公司也做了股票的一个回购了，想问一下，后续的一个计划，有没有一个关于规模，或者目标，在什么情况下我们会做更多回购？就是整个这两个问题。那我这边可能，自己翻译一下。I got two questions. First question is regarding the gaming business. It seems this year the gaming business is becoming more competitive giving more license for the games. Could you, manager, could you share more color about our new strategy for business goal for the gaming? And the second question about the share repurchase. Could you update us any targeted value amount for the share repurchase plan in the future? Thank you.
我来回答一下。正如你所说啊，确实，第一个呢，整个游戏版号啊，这个逐渐放开，或者叫做相比前两年吧，版号获批这个相对容易很多，我觉得这个是，是对整个行业来讲是一个非常利好的这个现象吧。所以，呃，虽然某种程度，呃，这个同时上线的产 会更多啊，但我觉得整个行业，呃，是，是，这个也利好吧，我觉得这才是前提。对，所以从这点角度来讲呢，我们是一种，呃，应该说是，呃，积极欢迎的态度吧，我觉得这个对整个行业都是个好事儿，好。那么对于我们来讲呢，也一样啊，也，也享受到了这种政策的红利，所以我们，我们现在也观察到提交版号的，呃，这个获批的这个时间周期也缩短了，呃，通过率也大大提高了。基本上就是，呃，呃，按照这个，这个要求去，去提交的话，这个都能拿到相应的版号。所以呢，这个，这个我觉得也是一个好，一个好现象。所以我们自己这边，呃，金山游戏这边的明年呢，刚才第一个问题呢，我已经谈过了，其实，呃，首先呢，就是，呃，我们会上线，呃，这个剑网三的这个手机这个版本，应该是，它是跟PC这个打通的，呃，账号互通的这么一个版本，其实也就相当于补足了这个剑网三在移动端始终没有，没有，没有版本的这么一个遗憾吧。对，所以从这点，这个应该是我们全，明年全年最，最，最，最核心的这个重头戏。对。此外呢，我们也会有计划地推出，呃，剑侠情缘的这个，这个，系列版本的，这个后续的这个版本。对，然后还有其实就是，呃，我们应该是研发了挺多年的吧，这个，这个首款面向全球的就机甲类的就Code Break，呃，也从目前来，看呢，也是计划在明年......
上线，这是计划啊，这相对来讲就比较确定明年可能会上的一些产品。但此外呢，这个还有些不确定性的，或者一些在研的呢，这个我暂时就不去展开了。但总体来讲呢，游戏的策略仍然是我之前谈到的，就叫做第一点呢，叫做做深做透剑侠情缘系列。对，这点是我们的根基，不会动摇。第二个呢，仍然是不停地去尝试和挑战新的有些品类。对，虽然我们这些，已经做了，这个有些年头啊，这个，尤其是，在一些重点领域，目前还没有取得特别好的突破，但是我们这条游戏发展的战略还始终不会改变。第三条就是走全球化，国际化的这条路线，这点虽然也是刚才一样的，我们做了一些尝试。对，但是呢，这个，我们仍然会继续沿着这条路走下去，好吧？这个游戏我也更新一下，就游戏的这个总体发展战略就是这三条，这个未来可能相当长时间都不会去改变的。OK，这是第一个问题，那个李瑶先翻译一下。
好的，邹总。I'll translate for Mr. Zou on the first question.
So just like you said, compare with the previous two years, it is a lot easier to get a lot more easier to get the licenses for the games. So this we believe is positive news for the entire gaming business, even though the competition also increased as the number of licenses increased. But we in general welcome this change as we also benefit from this change. So we think that it is beneficial for the entire gaming business. We also have a number of new games that will be launched next year. For example, the first one will be the JX3 mobile version, which will be now launched next year. This game is like I said in the first question, it's connected with the PC version. So this will be a core game strategy for next year. Also we have another game in the JX series, which will be launched next year. And there will be a third game, it's mechanic game, it's called Code : B.R.E.A.K., it will be targeting to the global market. This game has been developed for many years, and we're also ready to launch this game next year. So these three games have relatively certainty to be launched next year. And we also have a number of other games which are under development that will that I will not mention at this moment. And also for the long term gaming strategy, we think that we will keep our strategy unchanged for a relatively long term. And the first one will be that we will continue to develop the JX series. And the second one is that we will continue to expand to other game genres and other game IPs, which we have been trying for the past few years, we will keep certain to continue in this strategy direction. And thirdly, we are going to focus on the global strategy. This we have also made a few tries in the past, and we will continue to keep our strategy in the global market going forward. Thank you. 邹总，我翻译完了。
OK，第二个问题关于回购啊。其实从今年的五月份的股东会开完呢，其实就是给我们的一个授权吧，其实就是说不超过10亿港币的一个回购。实际上我们在今年，大家应该也能看到，我们陆续都在做这个动作，基本上就是，我们总体认为就是这个股价已经比较偏低的，至少站在我们这个角度啊，我们认为比较偏低的一种，这种情况下呢，我们都会去采取这个回购的这个动作。对，所以呢，在获得新的授权之前，我想我们还是会在这个框架下去执行，好不好？也就是说在10亿港币这个范围之内，股价相对处于比较低的一个阶段，我们基本上都会去当成一种日常行为去操作，好不好？当然如果是要更大规模的，这个回购呢，或者说整个回购政策需要比较大的调整呢，这个我还是需要得到董事会甚至股东会的一个授权，我们才能去做这个调整。也就是说，在一般情况下，我们都会按照刚才讲的那个去执行，好不好？OK，你翻译一下。
好的，邹总。I'll translate for Mr. Zou.
So regarding the second question on stock repurchase, as you noticed that, in the board meeting, which took place in May this year, we have already got a budget of HKD 1 billion for the purchase stock repurchase plan. And we have made a number of stock repurchase in the past, when we believe that the stock price is at a relatively low point. So before we get a new budget, we will continue with this budget, and continue our repurchase on a daily basis, if we believe that the stock price is at a relatively low point. And if we need a larger scale of stock repurchase, or if we need a adjustment on the stock repurchase budget, I will still need to have a new board approval. So, under normal circumstances, we will continue to have our stock repurchase within this budget, and within the HKD 1 billion budget. Thank you. ... Hi, Sandra, we're ready for the next question.
Thank you. One moment, please. We will now take the next question from the line of Linlin Yang from GF Securities. Please go ahead.
哎，周总，周总好。
你好.
我有两个问题想要请教一下，一个是关于游戏这一块的，就是，因为游戏在过去这两个季度其实表现都非常好，那，四季度我们怎么去展望它，就有没有大概的一个指引啊？然后，第二个问题是关于这个WPS的，WPS的话，它，因为在上半年更新了，我们升级了整个会员的体系，那就目前来看，现在就是从用户的反馈来看，就是是不是有达到我们之前的预期，然后什么时候能够看到，比如说，对，就，就在这块业务啊，就在收入方面有一个更加明显的一个体现，啊，就是对于收入增量这块一个明显的体现。然后另外我再追问一个问题啊，就是关于我们费用这一块，因为看到我们，就是在过去的几个季度的费用基本上都相对来说稳定，但是这个季度我们看到费用有一些增长，然后这个主要原因是什么？哦，那后续它这个就是费用，还有哪些投入的地方啊？
Then I'll translate it once. My first question is about the game business considering the strong performance of JX3, any outlook about game business in the fourth quarter this year? Next question is about WPS. WPS upgraded membership system in the first half year. How about the users feedback? And when will we see more positive impact on this business revenue? And one more question about the expense. We saw expense rate grow this quarter, so what's the reason for the growth? And how should we expect it change in the next year? Thank you.
好，我先回答前面两个问题啊。第一个呢，关于那个四 Q 的游戏的一个展望。从目前来看呢，剑，剑侠情缘呢，这个剑网三呢，表现依然很强劲，尤其是，这个应该说是这个每年的重头戏吧，都是放在 Q4。以我们过往的经验来看呢，这个，如果不出什么意外的情况下，Q4 应该是一个高峰。对，所以剑，剑侠情缘三的，剑网三那是肯定是，应该叫做八九不离十吧，应该不会出现太大偏差，总体维持着一个全年比较好的一个增长。对，但是，这个大家都清楚啊，因为我们去年呢，这个，我们上线的那个剑侠世界，剑侠世界三，总体来讲是超出了预期的，所以它在去年贡献了全年的收入，的贡献比，比重都比较大。但到今年呢，因为受游戏本身的那种付费模式的影响吧，它还是有这个有比较大的一个回落。所以呢，这个，这个，这个，加上我们今年这个，这个，这个陈白呢，这个肯定是没有达到我们这个之前的预期的。所以呢，就是说剑网三的增长，然后再加上，叠加那个剑侠世界三的这个衰减，所以总体来，来看呢，就是，这个一增一减，其实就是最，最终呢，我们，从目前的来看呢，就是，整体游戏还是会保持一个，一个增长，但是呢，就是，增速呢，就是，从反正目前预估来讲呢，就是可能也还是保持，保，我们，我们依然维持可能是一个个位数增长这么一个指引，好吧，这是游戏。第二个 WPS，要不先翻译一下。
好的，周总。I translate for Mr. Zhou, so regarding the first question on the fourth quarter game forecast, we will...
are expecting a strong performance from JX Online 3 through our past years' experience, the fourth quarter is usually the best quarter for JX 3 game itself. So we think that the annual growth for JX 3 is still a very strong, very good. But as you know, last year we launched the game JX World 3, its performance actually exceeded our expectation last year, and this year, due to its subscription model, actually have a natural decline. And also the new game that we launched this year, Snowbreak did not meet our expectations. So the increase in JX Online 3 and also the decrease in JX World 3 will this will offset each other, so the overall gaming is still increasing, but we still give a single-digit increased guidance for the annual guidance for the gaming business. 周总，翻译好了第一个问题。
第二个呢，就是WPS会员体系的这个升级啊，这个确实，这是我们今年，经常办公除AI之外的这个第二件大事吧。我们从四月份开始。...
做调整。我记得我在上个Q的也谈到过，其实在Q2的时候，其实还是出现了一些波动，然后呢，我们也做了一些调整，然后从现在的来看，对，从我们的观察来看呢，无论，是，应该说是已经达到了我们之前的预期。什么意思呢？就基本上，用用户的接受度以及UP值的提升，以及付费，以及会员数的这个，增长，都已经达到了这个我们的预期。对，只是在这里头稍微有个变量，就是说，因为你刚才问到了，就是那，什么时候，这种会员体系的调整，会员数的增加，最终会在收入上会有更好的一个体现。这里的变量在哪呢？其实就是这个AI。在我们今天，金山集团的董事会上呢，这个办公的CEO庆元呢，也跟我们这个交流了这个问题。我们认为这波AI很，应该说比较有信心或者把握的，应该就会，会让整个的会员的，应该说，或者叫做付费率吧，其实就是说，就是那个，这个我们总体的这个，付费率有可能会有非常大的一个提升，这个最后转化的其实就是这个付费的会员数，这个绝对数，可能会有比较大的提升。所以呢，这个，金山办公明年的一个核心战略重点呢，其实就是放在，希望通过AI这个，极大拉升整体的付费渗透率，提升我们的付费用户数，用户数上，这是当作这个首要任务。对，所以呢，就是，也就是说不能简单地，这个，单一地去看这个，会员这个收入这一块呢，应该说我们还是把那个抓住这次AI的机会吧，这个，打开付费用户数的这个天花板。这个，其实之前的策略我我也跟大家交流过啊，我和我们之前的这个会员升级，某种程度是希望提升ARPU值嘛。对，那是基于去年，应该说基于前年的这个，预算吧，因为我们前年并没有预测到AI的来临，但是今年的AI这一波来了之后，那个去年没有预测到啊，今年这个AI这波来了之后，我们认为是，是对我说，是这个，付费率的提升，这个我们认为变得非常非常可行。对，所以这个，就如果再回顾一下啊，就我，因为我这一两年我也说过，我的办公的策略，就第一个是提升总体的这个用户数，第二个是提升付费渗透率，第三个才是提升ARPU值。对，所以AI来了之后呢，可能使得我们这个之前的这些策略呢，又会重新地回到这，按这三条来了。对，好吧，这个我就做一个解释，也趁你这个问题的，我就做一个解释。OK，Lio回答一下。
好的，周总。I'll translate for Mr. Zhou. So regarding the question on the WPS membership system, that we had an upgrade in April, and other than the AI strategy, the membership system upgrade is actually the second largest core strategy for the WPS, for the Kingsoft Office business this year.
We already said that in our previous quarter earnings call, that we have faced some challenges in the second quarter, but based on the data, based on the performance today, we believe that both the number of paying users improvement and also the improvement in ARPU have met our expectations, currently. Regarding the timing on this impact on the revenue and on the monetization model, we think that the key change here is actually the AI.
From the board meeting today, the Kingsoft Office CEO also reported that he think that the opportunity of the AI strategy will further improve the ARPU and also the number of paying users. So next year we were going to keep continue to focus on the AI strategy, and we want to catch the AI opportunity to keep improve the penetration of the paying users, and in turn, we will increase the number of paying users. So right now, we are not only looking at the membership system but instead we are going to combine it with the AI opportunity. We want to capture the AI opportunity to have a breakthrough in the monetization model for the Kingsoft Office business. We have said that we will improve the ARPU from the new membership upgrades, but this is based on the budget that we had from two years ago.
But with the current AI opportunity, we think that the upcoming strategy will be focusing on both the AI and also the membership upgrades. So for the WPS business, we are going to continue with the three strategy. That is, number one, we will increase the number of users. Number two is that we were going to improve the penetration of the paying users. And number three is that we are going to improve the ARPU for the membership system. Thank you, Zhou Zong fanyi hao le.
好，第三个问题，那个李怡来回答一下，哎。
Ai, Li Yi, ni hao...
就是关于费用的问题，我们可以看到的话，其实在成本结构里面，最大头这个季度的话，那个市场费用的的话，它是环比的话有7%的增长，然后同比是有2%的增长，主要还是我们在Q3的时候推出的那个橙斑精选和起源的市场费用的问题。那么从全年来看的话，Q3的话，它经营利润的话应该是全年的一个最低点，我们预计Q4的话还是会有一个回升。所以整体来看的话，我们今年的那个经营利润水平跟去年相比的话，还是能够保持一个持平。从可预见未来来看的话，我们整体的营业利润的水平还是会保持在一个合理健康水平。所以整体来看的话，您担心的未来的我们一个成本结构的话呢，就从Q3来看的话，还是一个短暂的一个市场费用的一个情况。对，未来的话还是会保持一个合理水平，包括像整体的今年来看的话呢，也基本上会跟去年同期保持一个经营利润水平，基本上是相当的。对，李毅。
OK, I'll translate for Miss Lee. So regarding the third question on our expenses, we notice that, in this quarter, the expenses increase is mainly due to the marketing and increase, that we had a increase on, year-on-year with seven percentage points, and quarter-on-quarter with two percentage points. But we believe that this increase is only a short-term increase. So Q3 will be the quarter with the lowest expenses level. And on the fourth quarter, this level will come back to a reasonable level. So in terms of the annual expenses, we will keep our expenses at a reasonable and healthy level. Thank you.
Hi, Sandra, we're ready for the next question. Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I would like to turn the conference back to Francie Liu for closing remarks.
OK，周总，李毅，我们现在没有新的问题了。
我时间也差不多。好，行，反正时间也差不多，好吧，那就谢谢大家。
好，谢谢大家。
Hi, thank you for joining us today. This will conclude our presentation for the 2023 third quarter earnings call. Thank you.
This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.